Cupid's Arrow
by Twinmoon25
Summary: Usagi is Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is the moon princess. Tuxedo Kamen doesn't know, but is still looking for his princess. Will he find her? How will all this unfold? Read to find out.
1. prologue

Hello Minna! I have not written a Fan-Fic in quite a while, but decided to share the one that was on my brain with everyone. I hope you all like it.*Grins*

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is not mine… I do not own her or the other characters.. I own a dog named Lucy. That's it.

Cupid's Arrow

Prologue:

"Where is she?" His deep voice rumbled as he began to walk towards me. His dark eyes starring at me as if they could bore a hole through my head and find the answer there themselves. I tried to shift back from his advance, but my weak limbs refused the process. The gray dots were surrounding the edge of my vision and I knew that this was a battle that I would not win. Blood was now making it's way down the back of my legs. I could feel the cool air touching my blood stained skin. Trying to think past the pain, I looked up at the approaching man, just as a thought entered into my mind……

'Protect the crystal at all costs…' My arms and legs were seeming more and more distant from my body. With the last of my strength, I focused my energy into my locket, and pulled the silver crystal deep inside of my body . I felt my transformation fade away from my body as my world tipped violently sideways. I heard an audible gasp, followed by "Odango…." as the gray dots consumed my vision and gave way to blackness.

(A/N …..anybody for an attention grabber? Tee Hee. Stay tuned for the first chapter, Which will of course be longer than this.


	2. Chapter 1

_Hello minna! Well….here it is. The first chapter. (bites nails nervously) Please enjoy._

_Disclaimer: I own a motorcycle and a car, but not Sailor Moon._

Chapter 1:

18 hours earlier:

'RIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG!!!!!!!!' Shrilled my alarm clock at 6:30 in the morning, successfully awaking me from my slumber. I rolled over to turn it off, and glared at the calendar on my wall, willing the date to change so that it would instead be Saturday rather than the dreaded Monday that I was having to greet. I closed my eyes hard on a prayer and opened them up………nope….still Monday. After a few unsuccessful attempts at it, I decided that it was futile to keep trying, and proceeded to drag my tired carcass out of bed. With a long drawn out sigh and a few stretches on the way, this was accomplished. I looked longingly a the black cat sleeping peacefully at the foot of my bed, and for a moment envied Luna the life she had as a cat. As the morning sleep began to clear from my mind, I thought back on how just a few years ago I would repeatedly push the snooze button in the attempts of catching those extra few moments of sleep. After years of detention day after day, I finally realized that those cherished moments that were so precious to me in the mornings were the bane of my existence. Besides the fact that the additional minutes of snatched sleep did nothing to satisfy my need for it.

Ahh……..the look on my friends faces as I began to gradually become more of an early riser……absolutely priceless. Of course now they were used to it and expected nothing less than a bubbling Usagi-chan awake and ready for anything at the day's initiation. As I poured toothpaste on my toothbrush and began to brush my teeth, I chucked to myself at a thought. Even Mamoru-baka was shell-shocked at the new early rising Usagi. I bent to spit and looked up at the reflection in the mirror. A dreamy look starring back at me. Well….I didn't really think of him as a baka…not anymore that is. You see…our relationship had kind of changed. Being that I was no longer barreling into him because of my tardiness, or throwing bad tests at his head, there was no more shouting matches or name calling……well he still called me Odango-atama, but it was more of a pet name for a good friend.

"Sigh". The words good friend echoed in my mind as I was sadly reminded of our status. Despite the feelings that I had for the man, which were very large amounts of unexploited feelings, I knew that they would have to remain just that…….unexploited. For my heart was to belong to another. A prince of earth. Whom I had yet to meet, but knew that some day I would. I stalked back into my room and cursed the fates for allowing me to fall in love with a man that I could not have. And I cursed the dreams that had plagued my sleep since I was a child, causing me to be in love with a man I had yet to even encounter.

'I'm too young for this kind of drama.' I thought to myself as I put my high school uniform on and put up my 'odangos' as Rei and Mamoru would call them. I glanced at myself in my full length mirror one last time.

'If only things were different', I thought. 'If I hadn't of found out that I was the lost princess that we all had looked for…….' I scratched that thought immediately. It's not like I didn't want what was going to transpire. A dreamy look once again crossed my features in the mirror. I couldn't wait to one day meet my prince. That was another shocker to my friends….the day we found out that I was the princess. The rainbow crystals that we had looked and looked for, rushed out of every direction and joined right in front of me, forming my silver crystal. The looks on there faces then was also priceless. Of course Mamoru didn't know any of my secrets despite how good of friends we were. The senshi would kill me if that ever got out. They were to protect me and the silver crystal at all costs. You could say that the future of the world depended on it. Or so I was told by my future self after I had defeated Queen Beryl. (AN: and in my version Mamoru/Tuxedo Kamen wasn't apart of all that fun.) I quickly snapped out of my fantasies, before they made me late to school…..again, and studied my profile in the mirror. Satisfied with what I saw, I grabbed my bag and headed out the door to start my day.

I stopped to wait a few blocks down the road for my friends, knowing that they would be along at any moment's time. I tiredly leaned back against a light pole while my busy mind continued to contemplate things. Things that ranged from my senshi practices, which I had to confess was going exceptionally well, to the recent attacks that we had. Even to my Mamo-chan….

'Geez Usagi…..' I mentally scolded myself. ' You have to stop thinking of him that way!' A frown crossed my features and my eyes became saddened. 'It hurts to think of him in either way.' I thought.

"Hey Usagi-chan, why the sullen face?" Asked a concerned Ami, effectively bringing me out of my daze. With the haze of sorrow clouding my vision I had failed to notice that my friends had joined me. I quickly cleared all visible sadness from my face, and greeted them with the bubbling Usagi-chan that they should have been greeted with. You know, the one that they were accustomed to.

"Good morning minna!!! It's such a beautiful morning isn't it?" I asked hoping to distract them from the fact that they had noticed something bothering me, and that Ami had asked me what was wrong. They could be really over protective of me sometimes, and I didn't want them to worry. And to be honest, I really didn't want to talk about it. This seemed to work because they all smiled at me in agreement. I looked over at Rei, who was walking towards me…….with that look in her eyes. I immediately started to prepare myself for what was to come. I knew her all to well. _Something _ was coming. She closed the distance between us.

"What's the matter odangos for brains….You didn't even notice that we walked up on you. These odangos are starting to penetrate your brain again. I knew that you wouldn't be able to hold off their effects for too long." She teased as she tugged on one of my odango tails.

"At least I have a brain in my head instead of a bunch of flames and hot air pyro!" I teased back, sticking my tongue out at her. Although the three years we had all known each other had drastically changed my argumentative relationship with Mamoru, it had done nothing of the sorts for me and the fiery priestess. This of course proven as she matched my tongue sticking, and added a well dignified raspberry to top it off. In the midst of my war with Rei, I distinctively heard three sighs from behind me. Of course everyone knew that me and Rei were actually VERY close despite our quarrels. She was like the sister I had never had. I loved her insanely. But I wouldn't tell her that……she'd just find a way to use it against me. Just then everyone stopped dead in their tracks as a scream pierced the air. The five of us instantly became alert.

"Looks like it's show time scouts," Exclaimed Minako as she pulled her wand out of her sub-space pocket.

"Yeah. Let's kick their butts!!" Makota said as she slammed her fist into her palm.

"Come on guys…lets go!" I ordered, and ran behind the nearest building to transform, knowing that they would be right behind me. Four Sailor senshi and myself ran from the alleyway to face the evil that awaited us.

_(A/N Well….that was fun. So…..*moves foot around in circles on the floor* what did you think? Please let me know. I like feedback.  
_


	3. Chapter 2

Hello Minna! For those of you that have been waiting, here is the second chapter. I hope you like.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I just borrow the characters.

Chapter 2:

I sprinted towards the downtown district, where all the noise and chaos was coming from, with my senshi at my side. We rounded the corner street and abruptly stopped. There in front of us was a youma that bared a striking resemblance to cupid, currently shooting arrows at the screaming people running unsystematically beneath it trying to escape. It was ice blue in color with a hot pink bow and arrows set, and wore a black chest plate of armor that was adorned with a symbol of an arrow piercing a bloody heart; and not the commercialized Valentine's Day heart either. It had pink colored wings, pointed ears, and a crazy psychotic look in its red eyes as it continued to stalk and terrorize the people.

"This could get dangerous you guys." I warned as we finished surveying our surroundings.

"Yeah, watch out for the arrows, they look like they could do some damage." Suggested Sailor Mercury. Four heads and my own nodded in agreement right before we jumped into action.

"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!!" The attack sailed towards our opponent, and only succeeded in alerting our presence as the youma skillfully dodged the attack. She armed herself with another arrow and pulled it back tight in the bow, aiming it directly for Sailor Mars.

"Mars look out!" I screamed as the arrow flew towards the senshi of fire.

"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!" The attack slammed into the arrow effectively disintegrating it. The youma howled in frustration and turned her attack towards Venus.

"I just want to play match maker! My arrows to your heart!" Shouted the youma, but before she could pull the bow taught, Jupiter's clasp of lightning flew in her direction, and efficiently stopped the strike on Venus, which caused the youma to once again expertly dodge an attack..

"Man this thing is quick." Replied Jupiter after watching her attack be expertly avoided. Just then the youma flew in Sailor Mercury's direction, who was busy trying to pin point the youma's weakness with her computer, and did not see the intentions of the wicked creature until it was too late. The arrow was already pulled back in the bow and was about to be released at the unsuspecting senshi. I sprinted in the direction of the youma and grabbed my tiara. I reared back and flung it with all my strength just as the arrow was released. The tiara soared through the air and collided with the arrow just centimeters in front of Sailor Mercury's body.

"Nice shot Sailor Moon!" Mars shouted to me. I smiled in her direction and reached up to grab my returning tiara, and failed to miss the attack that was now directed towards me. Time appeared to slow down at that moment. I saw Mars' eyes widen with surprise and I heard the shouts of warning from my friends. At that same instant, I felt the my feet leave the ground as my whole vision shifted to the side. I heard the arrow whiz by me right before I slammed into the ground, and registered the additional weight that had pressed me into it. I felt that all too familiar tingling sensation that had nothing to do with my near death experience, and everything to do with the body mass that had protectively tackled me. If I didn't already know who it was, his glorious smell of roses would have tipped me off.

"Err…thanks Tuxedo Kamen." I ruefully said as I glanced up at his furious face.

"You need to pay more attention Sailor Moon. I can't always be saving your butt just because you're not watching what you are doing.." He said bitterly as he released his weight from mine and stood up. Our relationship with Tuxedo Kamen had been, to say the least…strained. He knew that we had found the princess, but that was all he new. Luna and the senshi felt that my secret was best kept from him seeing as we did not know that much about him, and he would not divulge his intentions towards the princess….me. Thus ensued tension amongst us. I sighed as I watched him jump away, half knowing that he would be waiting. My attention shifted back to the battle at hand. The Sailor Senshi had been hurling their attacks left and right, only to be continuously avoided by the flying youma. They were slowly surrounding it and I jumped in to fill the gap.

"Keep it up guys, we've got her surrounded." Sailor Mercury stated. But before we could take advantage of our upper hand, the youma suddenly let out a diabolical laugh and shot straight up into the air out of sight.

"Where did she go?" I asked as we all stared up to the sky.

"I don't kn….." Before Jupiter could finish her sentence, she had to dive out of the way of an arrow. Just then, arrows started falling out of the sky. We instantly ran for cover under a parking garage, as arrows narrowly avoided piercing our skins. We heard the youma laugh again.

"Talk about loosing the high ground advantage." I half joked.

"What are we going to do? If we jump out she'll peg us off one by one." Deliberated Jupiter.

"Mercury….A reading?" I asked the blue haired senshi.

"Working on it." She replied as she continuously typed away at her computer.. Arrows still pierced the ground outside of the parking garage, ricocheting off and slamming into cars.

"Man we're sitting ducks in here!" I said with no hint of a whine in my voice whatsoever……..Well, maybe a little.

"Come out and play!" Yelled the youma. Just then the arrows stopped pegging the pavement outside. We kept absolutely still. A whole minute passed. Sailor Venus motioned towards the edge of the parking garage and slowly made her way over to it to peak out. Using the cover of a car she careened her head around it to try and get a look at the youma. Another minute passed. Venus stood up and turned to face us.

"I don't see her…." She said. Suddenly we heard the diabolical laugh again. As soon as Sailor Venus heard this, she was diving back into the car garage again just as arrows shot the spot she was previously standing in.

"Way to be quick on your feet Venus!" I complimented her.

"Not quick enough." She supplied as she turned around to reveal a large hole where an arrow had pierced the orange skirt of her fuku. "This thing is getting on my nerves." She said. "Awww. You can see my butt!!" She complained as the four of us tried our best not to laugh at the misfortunes of our senshi of love.

"I'm bored…..We'll play later." We heard the youma suddenly suggest as her attacks ceased.

"Careful guys, it could be another trick." Said Sailor Jupiter.

"Jupiter is right." Sailor Mars said. "I just bet she's up there planning something else."

"Not likely." Commented Sailor Mercury.

"What is it Mercury? Did you find something?" I asked.

"The youma. I….I don't have reading on it."

"WHAT?" Shouted Mars.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It must have left." She answered.

"Probably to another part of town to look for more victims." Suggested Sailor Jupiter.

"No," Said Sailor Mercury. "I don't have a reading on it anywhere in the city. It's as if it vanished."

"How can that be?" Asked Venus.

"So the amazing Sailor senshi let a youma escape." Came a deep voice from the opening of the car garage. "How weak." We looked towards the voice to see Tuxedo Kamen leaning casually against a car.

"We didn't see you leading a hand out there cape boy." Shouted Mars.

"You've got some nerve you jerk." Said an angry Sailor Jupiter.

"Why should I?" He replied to Mars' question ignoring the threat that was clearly visible in Jupiter's eyes. "I came for one purpose only." He said.

"Which is?" I asked him. I had to look around the senshi to see his face because they had automatically stepped in front of me to shield me. Our eyes met and held for a brief moment. I wanted so badly for him to be on our side. He tore his gaze from mine and looked to the other senshi.

"Why…only to talk of course." He said.

"About… "

"The location of the moon princess." He said. His expression darkened. "I know that you are keeping her from me."

"Even if we did know, we would never give that information to the likes of you!" Yelled a still very peed off Sailor Jupiter, who looked poised for an attack. One that she would likely deliver herself.

"Calm down Sailor Jupiter." I ordered. I turned my attention towards Tuxedo Kamen. "What do you want with the princess?" I asked him. I wished with every fiber of my being for him to tell us that his intentions were good. I didn't like this dispute that was between him and us, and for a moment I thought his facial expression softened, but I blinked, and his expression was stone cold again. 'It must have been the light playing tricks on me.' I thought.

"That……" He said very slowly, "Is none of your business." Before I could reply to this, Sailor Mars was running full speed towards him.

"Why you creep. I'll show you some business." She said as she threw her fists in his direction. Tuxedo Kamen dodged her attacks easily. Sailor Jupiter jumped in to join. Out numbered, he jumped to the roof.

"Get back down here and fight you coward!" Shouted Jupiter.

"This is a waste of time." He said. I wasn't sure it was possible at that time, but his face became colder. "I will find her." He spoke vehemently. "So play your feeble little hiding game. You won't be able to keep her from me forever." He started to turn but then stopped. "Just remember one thing…if you are not for me, then you are against me." With that said he disappeared onto the roof tops as the venom of his words sank in.

(A/N: Yay! Second chapter done. Sorry about the wait. It took longer than I thought it would. I hope that it was everything you thought it could be and more. And oh…I love feedback. Thank you to those who wrote me.)


	4. Chapter 3

(A/N: Here it is for those of you that have been waiting._..sorry_)

Disclaimer: I didn't take her i swear. I'm only borrowing her, i'll give her and the rest of them back when i'm done i promise.

Chapter 3:

Getting detention sucked. Getting detention for being late because you were protecting the upstanding citizens of Tokyo from impending doom was just down right unfair. But it's not like I could of walked up to the teacher in the morning and been like…."Sorry I was late, I had to chase off a big scary monster to keep it from destroying people." That would be detention for a whole week. Consequently, I sat in the near empty class room at a quarter until four glaring at the clock much similar to the way I glared at my wall calendar this morning willing the numbers to change. Of course this method yielded much of the same results that I received from my calendar as I watched the second hand slowly creep around the clock on its own accord, refusing my wishes that it be a later time. I glanced over at my blue haired friend a couple of seats down that shared my same fate. Ami sat patiently and quietly and read a book. I envied her that distraction.

My mind was far too occupied to accomplish something like reading a book. I recalled what Tuxedo Kamen had said just before he left this morning. I sighed and let my head hit the desk.

'Why did life have to be so complicated.' I thought to myself. Something in my gut told me that we could trust Tuxedo Kamen, but my senshi had told me otherwise. 'Why did they have to be so protective of me anyway?' I thought. 'Technically I'm the most powerful person in the world.' That thought caused a hysterical laugh to bubble its way to my throat before I could stop it. I managed to block out most of it from escaping into the silent classroom, all except for a 'hah'. I quickly glanced over to the teacher to see if she had heard my slip up, and expelled a breath of relief that she was still obliviously grading papers. I didn't need to be sent home with a letter to my parents informing them that their daughter had lost her mind.

I felt a pair of eyes on me and glanced to my left. Ami had apparently heard my slip up and was eyeing me apprehensively. 'Great' I thought. If this morning's slip up hadn't alerted her to my troubled mind, then this would. I knew I would have to answer her questions later on. They really did worry too much. I glanced at the clock, who's face read 3:46. I sighed.

'Okay Usagi….a distraction…..something to do.' I thought. My mind shifted to thoughts of the mysterious tall dark and handsome prince from my dreams and I sighed inwardly at the thought of him 'He will unquestionably be intelligent.' I contemplated. 'And he will treat me like a princess……… um….like the one I am already.' I mentally snickered at the thought. 'He will be dashing, but that will be a given.' Although I could not picture his face clearly, I had no trouble imagining what I thought he would look like. 'He would definitely be handsome…..like Mamo-chan.' My thoughts directed themselves to the upper classman before I had even registered the change. I knew what awaited me after I could escaped the clutches of the school's extended hold on me, and finally make it to the arcade. The warm hug that I always received as soon as I got there that made me feel tingly all over. The male voice that would whisper hello in my ear at the same time, causing my insides to churn…..

"USAGI-SAN!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yelled the teacher right in my ear. I fell out of cloud nine and simultaneously out of my desk, yielding the results of flame red cheeks and bruised purple buttocks. "So you finally heard me huh?" Asked the teacher. Through my embarrassment of the moment I just nodded. "You and Ami-san are free to go." She said as she walked back to her desk. I grabbed my things and my remaining dignity, and headed towards the door, acknowledging that the clock now read 4:00.

'Why is it when I daydream time seems to sky rocket forward?' I mentally made a note of this for future reference as Ami and I walked out of the school towards the Crown Arcade. I stared hard at the ground in front of me as we walked, all the while feeling Ami's eyes boring into the side of my head. She finally spoke when she grasped the idea that I was not going to initiate any conversation on my own.

"Is something bothering you Usagi-chan?" She asked as we continued on our expedition along the sidewalk toward the arcade. "Because you know you can talk to me ." She continued. I hesitantly looked up and was greeted with sincere blue eyes full of concern. My eyes began to sting and I quickly glanced back down before she could notice.

"Just a lot on my mind lately Ami-chan. I have quite a bit resting on my shoulders you know." I reminded her. She looked down as if contemplating this. Then she glanced back up and smiled.

"I guess your right, we tend to forget just how much DOES rest on your shoulders Usagi-chan." She said. "But if you need to talk or just need a shoulder to lean on……."

"I know Ami-chan." I smiled back at her and was relieved that I didn't have to reveal all the heart wrenching feelings that seemed to plague my mind to her just yet.

The arcade was brimming with people by the time we arrived. We walked over to our usual booth where are friends were already waiting on us, there school was closer to the arcade than ours, and proceeded to sit down. However, before I managed this, a dark haired gorgeous specimen of the male species walked up to me and gently pulled me into the hug that I always fantasized about. I felt my body react to the contact almost before contact was even made. My arms naturally wound around his waist as he bent down to speak.

"Good to see you Odango Atama." He murmured into my ear, causing my already frazzled insides to zing. I stared up into his gorgeous eyes unable to find my voice for a few seconds.

"It's good to see you Mamoru-san." I said to him barely above a whisper…..as I had yet to find my whole voice. He smiled down at me as he released me and sat down in the booth with the rest of our friends. I sat down as well and prayed that I was the only one who could hear my heart hammering a hole in my chest. The girls were already engaged in a heated discussion about an upcoming party that a kid from Rei's school was going to throw.

"So his parents are going out of town for a few days?" Asked Minako, her eyes bright with anticipation.

"Yup" Replied Rei.

"And EVERYONE is going?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I bet there will be a lot of cute guys there" Exclaimed Makoto. Just then the conversation broke off into a discussion about boys, which included several sighs and dreamy faces. Exactly what I didn't feel like at the moment. I stood and excused myself.

"Is something wrong Usagi-chan? Asked Minako. Everyone's face was then averted in my direction. I mentally slapped myself for causing worry to my friends while trying to think up a good excuse to leave.

"No, I'm just not feeling good today. I think I'll go home and hit the sack early." I said.

"Are you sure nothings wrong?" Asked Ami, her eyes reflecting her earlier concerns for me.

"You guys worry too much," I exaggeratedly rolled my eyes at her. "I'll be fine. I think I just have a little stomach bug or something. I'll feel better once I sleep it off." They all seemed to except this answer.

"We hope you feel better." Said Minako. Everyone said their farewells to me and went back into their conversation about boys. I glanced at Mamoru who was the only one still staring at me with a worried expression. I looked away from his gaze as I began to turn and walk towards the door., waving a goodbye to a very busy Motoki.

"Odango….." I heard from behind me. I turned around to see Mamoru walking towards me. "Hold on, I'll walk you home." He suggested.

"Oh…you really don't have to….."

"I insist" He said putting his arm casually over my shoulder and turning us back towards the door just as he leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You wouldn't leave me with them to endure the 'who has the best male body' conversation would you?" I giggled at this as we walked outside of the arcade. We walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes. It was nice outside. The air was already cooling down with a fall breeze.

"So what's really bothering you?" Asked Mamoru, abruptly ending the comfortable silence. I turned my head to glance at him. He was staring back with that worried expression again.

'Great….figures HE would know when I was lying.' I thought as I stared down at my feet like suddenly they were the most important things to look at. 'What can I tell him?' There was a moments worth of panic as I tried to figure out what to say.

"Just a lot on my mind I guess." I mumbled to him. Obviously this answer didn't persuade him to drop the subject. This of course being evident as he put his arms on my shoulders and turned me to face him. My heart rate nearly quadrupled at the contact. His eyes stared into mine like they could find answers. For a moment I thought they could. That he had somehow figured out that I had feelings for him and the talk of boys made me unbearably sad because we couldn't be together. This thought did nothing to slow down my already pounding heart. His eyes searched mine for a second more before he spoke.

"Would you like to talk about it?" He asked quietly, concern clearly visible in his sapphire eyes. I wanted to cry. My eyes pricked and my tear ducts stung with the unshed tears. I held them back with everything I had. I had to look away from his eyes before I could speak.

"There's nothing to talk about really." I lied. He must have accepted this because we turned and started walking again. I breathed a sigh of relief…..too early. He gracefully steered us towards the park. I mentally cursed. 'This is not good.' We walked in silence until the shade of the trees covered our forms. He once again broke the silence.

"You know this park is quite big." He mentioned. I looked at him from the corner of my eye. He had a small smile on his face, a bit confident and a tad smug. My mind then translated his words to….."You're going to tell me exactly what's wrong before we get through this park"

'Not good. Not good. Not good.' I mentally chimed. What could I say to him? 'Since when did he know me so well?' I couldn't lie to him….that obviously wasn't working. 'I could just stay silent through our little walk.' Suddenly, although I could not see it, the end of the park shone with an exit beacon. I kept my mouth shut as we continued our walk. Under normal circumstances I would have enjoyed our time together, but do to the large spotlight over my head, this wasn't the case. I got excited when we approached the lake. This meant we were halfway. My excitement ended quickly as we stopped in front of the water. He wasn't going to let me off that easy. I watched the setting sun dance off of the lake. His hand gently grabbed my chin and turned me towards him. My eyes locked with his, genuine concern dominant in his features. My eyes started to water again.

"Tell me what's wrong Odangos…..I can't stand to see you so sad." He pulled his hand away and ran it through his hair, battling emotions I didn't know about. I was clearly causing him some distress.

"I…." I suddenly wanted to tell him everything. He looked into my eyes once more waiting for my answer. "I have been sad lately. " I confessed. I looked away for a moment…..contemplating. "Have you ever wanted something, but knew that you would never get it?" I looked back up at him, trying to gage his response. There were no questions in his eyes, just understanding. I knew then that it was foolish to be scared to open up to him. He would always understand. Someone that could be there for me, but I could not do the same for him. For a moment the pain at that thought was almost unbearable. I turned to walk away as the first tears fell. I didn't get far. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back towards him. His face was a mask of sadness as he caught sight of my tears. He pulled me tightly into his arms. My head found its way into the curve between his head and shoulder. The fit was perfect. I instantly felt better. Maybe too much. My insides were doing that jig they were so fond of when ever he touched me.

"I guess even I can get lonely sometimes." I joked. I heard his small chuckle and I felt him relax, apparently relieved that I was no longer crying. In fact I was far from it. My heart was pounding in my throat. If I didn't break the contact soon……..I started to pull away when he suddenly grabbed my wrist. He sucked in a quick intake of air and stared at me with marvel and speculation. I knew then that he was feeling my thundering pulse through my skin. I stared wide eyed at him unable to speak. There was no other way to explain why his touch sent my body into a disarray of feelings. His eyes then held all the questions I was afraid of earlier. I tried to pull my hand away but met resistance.

"Mamo-chan I………" I slapped my hand over my mouth with my free hand. Horror shining in my eyes. 'I can't believe this is happening.' I thought. 'I can't believe I just called him that.' He stared at me….his eyes mirroring the shock in mine. Before I could react further, my hand was quickly torn from my mouth, and his mouth replaced it. Years of pent up feelings burst out of me in that moment, and I could swear I felt the earth tilt. My arms wound around his neck tightly, his around my waist as we got lost in the kiss. At that moment there was nothing but the two of us. I felt like I was floating. The kiss deepened and I barley registered the feeling of hard bark against my back. I didn't even remember moving, let alone walking backwards, but somehow he had me backed against a tree as we both continued our assailment.

His mouth swiftly broke free of mine only to attack the tender skin of my neck. His lips traveled up to my ears and my knees nearly buckled at the sensation. His lips found mine once again in a searing kiss that DID make my knees buckle. His arms were strong around my waist as he continued the wonderful assault on my senses.

The kiss gentled. His hands left my waist to cup my face. The beauty of the kiss nearly undid me and I started to tremble. He broke the kiss to stare down at me. The love I saw in his eyes snapped me back to my senses.

"Mamoru-san……I……."Tears welled up and spilled over….I had no right to kiss him back like that. He gently wiped the tears from my face. I pulled away from his touch. "I'm sorry….I can't…..I mean….we can't…….." I was close to full sobs now. I turned from him quickly and sprinted away. My heart breaking a little further with every step. I ran out of the park, the invisible exit beacon I had imagined moments before now taunting me. I ran all the way home and up to my room, thankful that the house was empty. I didn't even bother with the light, I just flung myself on my bed and let the despair swallow me whole.

(A/N: *sniff* Poor Usagi….I wonder what will happen next?…….Well actually I already know….*grins evilly* But I hope that you guys are all wondering. I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I had a bad case of writer's block that I had to overcome. I'm on a roll now so hopefully the other chapters will just flow out. Remember feedback is a writer's best friend. Thanks for those that responded before.


	5. Chapter 4

(A/N: Hello minna!!! Here it is. Chapter 4. Please enjoy. I know i enjoyed writing it.)

Disclaimer: Roses are red, Sailor mercury's skirt is blue, I own many things, but not Sailor Moon. (pretty cheesy huh? Stay tuned for the next disclaimer...i bet i can make it even cheesier!)

Chapter 4:

"_Princess_…." A male voice whispered into the night. I instantly sat up. I registered the cold wet grass underneath my hands as I pushed myself to my feet. There were stars shining over head along with a full moon, but that was all that I could see. Walls of tall thick bushes covered both sides stretching to at least fifteen to twenty feet in the air. Panicked, I ran forward as fast as I could, until the tall bushes were obscuring my path. I looked to the left and noticed that the path opened in that direction. I turned to the left and ran, only to reach a dead end. I realized as I stared at the tall bushes in front of me that this was a maze.

'What am I going to do? I suck at mazes!' I tried to push through the thick brush, but it wouldn't give. I managed to wrestle my arm through about halfway, to my elbow, but there was no empty space touching my hand, only more thick bushes. Panic then threatened to rear up and grab me by the throat.

'How am I going to get out of here?' I thought as I pulled my now scratched up hand back out of the deep shrub.

"_Princess_….." Suddenly came the same male voice from before, interrupting my thoughts. I whirled around to look behind me, but no one was there.

'It has to be my prince.' I thought as I ran back in the direction that I had just come from. I turned the corner and came to an abrupt stop. There was a figure directly ahead of me. I squinted my eyes to try to make out the figure in the night.

"_My dear Princess_……." Whispered the figure. Although it was all but pitch black, I could see from the moonlight that the figure was tall and had a cape. I saw silver shimmer by his side, and knew that it was a sword he carried. I had seen this vision of him many times in my dreams. It was my prince. Happiness flooded into me as I began to run towards him, tears seeping from my lashes. But before I could reach my beloved prince, he turned the corner and walked away from me.

"No wait!" I yelled, trying to stop him from leaving. I turned the corner sure that with my speed I would crash into him, but as I rounded the bushes I saw his figure turn another corner ahead of me. "No! Don't leave!" I was running with all my speed as I quickly rounded the other turn my prince had just occupied. To my horror he was already turning another corner. There was no way I was going to catch him. My tears of happiness suddenly turned to tears of despair.

"_My dear Princess…..it is time_……." I heard him whisper impossibly close to me, although I could see his silhouette turning another direction away from me as I rounded another turn. I dashed forward in a straight-away for what must have been about five hundred yards. When the wall of bushes stretched up in front of me I stopped. I saw that the path opened up to the right of me this time. I walked around the corner. It was a dead end, but standing there with his back to me and cape billowing at his heels was my prince. My heart thundered in my chest as I slowly walked up to him.

"I've been waiting a long time for you…." I whispered to him as I closed the distance, my heart nearly bursting with longing and anticipation. He turned around at my words and had me gasping in shock. This was not my prince. The cape and sword seemed to vanish, only to be replaced by a familiar green blazer. "Mamoru-san…..but where's…….?" He shook his head at me and chuckled.

"I've been waiting a long time for you princess……." He said. I shook my head to try to clear it. This wasn't right. What happened to my prince? Before I could comment I saw a blinding flash of light coming from him. The flash was over almost as soon as it began. I gasped in terror at the sight in front of me. "I've got you now Princess….." Said Tuxedo Kamen as he started to take a step towards me. I turned on my heels and started to run. A scream tore from my lips as I felt his gloved hands wrap around my waist…..

I sat up straight in my bed, my heart thundering in my chest. The moon's light was lightly illuminating my room through the window. I held my hand over my chest as if it would slow down my pounding heart. 'It was just a dream' I thought to myself, trying to calm my nerves. I glanced at the clock. It was just after eleven. I stared at it's luminescent numbers as my breathing slowed. When my heart had returned to a somewhat normal state, I recapped the dream. I had always dreamed about my prince for as long as I could remember, but never like that. 'And what was Mamoru doing there?' I thought. Still shaken up and confused I got out of bed. I must have cried myself to sleep, because I was still in my school uniform. I thought back to my time with Mamoru today and my eyes pricked with new tears. I felt like I had betrayed my prince. 'Of all the scenarios I had pictured of my first kiss……. ' My throat caught on a sob. I had betrayed my prince and yet that kiss was better than anything that I could of ever imagined.

'What's wrong with me?' I desperately thought. I knew what I should be doing. 'I should be waiting for my prince so that we may one day be King and Queen of the earth……and yet here I am madly in love with another man.' I quietly paced my room as my mind tried to logic with my heart. 'But my prince isn't here yet….he's not real to me yet, and Mamoru is flesh and blood. Warm, great smelling, awesome looking flesh and blood …..' I slapped my forehead trying to get the thoughts out of my head.

"Usagi-chan?" Came Luna's sleepy voice from my bed. I must have woken her up with my forehead slap. Berating myself by slapping my forehead again seemed cliché, so I opted not to.

"It's just me Luna-chan." I told her. I watched her through the moonlight as she shook the sleep off her, jumped off the bed, and walked over towards me.

"Usa-chan…..is there something bothering you?" She asked, her scarlet eyes staring up at me. "When I came home from my walk today you were already asleep, and it was only seven o'clock." She accused. I thought about what to say. Luna was right up there with the rest of them when it came to worrying about me. I opted for the same story I told the girls.

"I think I have a little stomach bug Luna-chan…..nothing to worry about.' I paused. Cinnamon eyes looked up at me attentively, waiting for me to finish. "I thought that if I came home early I could sleep it off." I told her as I gave her my best 'see there's nothing wrong here' smile. She eyed me skeptically at first, but then as if on cue, my stomach let out a painful sounding groan. The skepticism left her eyes followed by sympathy.

"Oh you poor thing. Is there anything that I can get for you….to help?" Any other normal situation wouldn't have me thanking God that I had not eaten anything since lunch.

"I don't think so. I'm sure it will pass on its own." I reassured her. "Since I'm up I might go down stairs and see if there is any soup or something that I can heat up."

"Okay…" She let out a huge yawn and stretched her paws in front of her. "But if you need anything don't hesitate to wake me." She said as she jumped back onto the bed to curl her legs underneath her.

"Okay I won't…." I told her. I walked down stairs in hopes of scoring some food. Lunch seemed like such a long time ago, and my stomach was making its protests against my neglect towards it more prominent. The house was quiet, due to the fact that my family was evidently asleep for the night. I opened the fridge and found a bowl with a note on it reading:

" Hi sweetie…I made some

soup for you in case you

woke up hungry. I hope

you feel better,

Love Mom."

"I love you too Mom" I stated as I grabbed for the dish. I was so hungry that I almost opted to eat it cold, but decided to nuke it instead. I waited two whole torturous minutes watching the bowl circle lazily around the microwave, then burnt my tongue in my hurry to try and eat it. I had never felt better. Once I had conquered my raging hunger and silenced the noisy protests of my abused stomach, I retired back to my room. I took off my school uniform and glanced uneasily at the bed. At that moment it looked more like a torture trap than a bed. My night clothes were draped over the bed and I reverted my gaze to them. I then stared at my closet on the other side of the room. This jester was repeated several times as I remained in the middle of a clothes limbo for what seemed like three whole minutes. I didn't really want to go back to sleep. For one I was wide awake and two, I really didn't want to risk having another dream. I glanced at Luna who was already sound asleep, and looked back at my closet one last time. I made the decision to escape my clothe-less purgatory and walked over to my closet.

'I'll go for a walk.' I told myself. 'I can use the fresh air anyway….to think.' I grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a shirt out of the closet, and careful in my movements not to wake my sleeping guardian, I quietly dressed. I then silently crept to the door, my brooch already heavy inside my pocket. This being a result of over three years of evil crime fighting. Having my brooch on me always was second nature to me now. I was about to escape the confines of my room when I glanced back and saw in the dim moon light my communicator on my bed side table. I then sat in communicator-less purgatory for about thirty seconds as I tried to decide if I wanted to take it with me. If Luna woke up and saw that I was gone she would definitely call me and I would have to hear her tongue lashing.

I inwardly sighed as I snuck back over the thresholds of my room to grab it. 'Better to have it on me then to let them worry.' The better part of my brain told me. I successfully snuck down the stairs and out of the house without waking anyone. It wasn't my first rodeo. I had been sneaking out for walks at night for years. It was an art really. The air held a little bit more bite than it had held earlier, but I didn't mind. The cool air would help me think. I walked down the empty street enjoying the night air and solitude. Out of habit my feet guided me towards the park. If I were a normal teenager the park would be a dangerous place at night…in fact walking alone late at night anywhere was a dangerous act. Luckily, or I should say by fate, I wasn't a normal teenager. I was skillfully trained in martial arts due to our senshi practices. If that failed me, I had my powers.

I thought about the crystal that was in my pocket at that very moment. At the thought of it the brooch warmed and slid out of my pocket. It opened and levitated in front of me for a second before my hand closed around it. I stared at it still in thought. Although I kept it in the brooch, I could still feel the power of the crystal throughout my body. I was undoubtedly physically and mentally connected to it. Only a few years of having it in my possession and I could already_ feel _every aspect of it. I knew that I would only get more and more powerful as the years progressed. A year or so ago I would have tried to refuse this thought., but I had embraced my powers along with my fate.

'I will be Queen of the Earth, and I will rule the people with compassion and strength.' I thought. I dropped my hand and let my crystal shine at me for a few seconds more. With a thought I closed the brooch and slid it back into safe confines of my pocket. It was then that I noticed the park straight ahead. I glanced at the full moon over head. 'It will look gorgeous over the lake.' I thought as my feet already started to guide me in that direction. The park was just as empty as the streets were. This no doubt being because it was after midnight on a weeknight. I made it to the lake without any qualms, and was right on the money. The moon _DID _look gorgeous shining across the lake, glittering its white light delicately off of the ripples. I sighed as the lake scented air filled my nostrils.

'I love it here.' I thought. This was my one place that I could go to think. Really think. Standing in front of the lake and completely complacent, I allowed myself to think of the kiss Mamoru and I had shared. My heart lurched at the thought. 'He shouldn't cause these emotions in me.' I thought. 'But he does…and I can't just ignore them.' He was starting to interrupt my dreams…just like my prince. That had to mean something. My mind threw itself into a fantasy at that thought. What if Mamoru was my prince? I sighed at the beauty of the thought. That would be the single best thing that could ever happen to me. 'Then we would be able to kiss like that all the time…..' I thought as the memory of our kiss in the very spot I was standing reverberated fresh in my mind, causing my insides to do those flip-flops that I could never get used to. Another thought interrupted my happy thought. 'Is it wrong to imagine Mamoru as my prince?' I suddenly felt the betrayal that I had felt earlier. 'It's not such a bad thought.' My mind tried to reason with my heart.

I sighed as I peered over at the water. I was about to look away when something caught my attention. I saw some pink and blue reflections in the water. 'This can't be good.' I told myself as I watched the pink and blue reflections dance in the water. I held back my panic as the reflection started to move towards my reflection. I slowly and carefully pulled out my brooch and my communicator. I watched as it stopped at what appeared to be directly behind me. I spun around trying to switch the element of surprise, but saw the blur of color zoom towards me instead. I barely had time to put my hands up. The blur hit me and knocked me hard to the ground., sending my communicator and brooch headlong into the lake. Favoring my ribs, I scrambled to my feet as the youma laughed wickedly.

"Aww…did you need that?" She mocked. I noticed then that it was the same youma from earlier today. "I have something else you can have instead." She threatened as she reached back and grabbed an arrow out of her pouch, hooked it into her bow, and pulled it taut. I dove out of the way just as the first arrow hit the ground. I jumped behind a tree as another zoomed by my head. "Stand still will ya?" She complained. "I can't kill you if you keep moving."

'I can't believe that this is happening tonight!' I thought. 'I have to do something.' I knew that staring at it wouldn't get rid of it. This evident from my attempts to change my wall calendar and the clock at school earlier. Thinking fast and using my connection, I summoned my brooch from the depths of the lake. I wouldn't be able to do anything about my communicator. The wet brooch zoomed into my hand just in time for my cover of the tree to be blown, and for me to jump out of the way of another arrow. The youma stopped to howl in frustration at my evasion attempts. I charged fast and hard at the youma, taking her by surprise, and jumped kicked her hard in the chest plate. She stumbled back a good five feet.

'It's now or never Usagi….' I told myself as I held my brooch in the air over my head. Water drizzled down my arm to my shirt sleeve as I yelled the all too familiar words needed to transform.

(A/N: Dun dun dun!!!! I know i'm awful leaving the suspense hanging like that.....*grins* For those of you worrying what dear Mamoru is going through, don't worry. The next chapter we will finally get to hear from him. See what that guy is up to you know? Till next time. Remember.....i love reviews!


	6. Chapter 5

(A/N: Hello Minna! I just want to say to those of you that have been waiting a very long time for this that I am very very very sorry. I had most of this story complete but lost it in someone's computer. (Ex's) I was hopeful that I would get it back so that I could upload it but it never happened. I decided to re-write the chapters that I had lost. I should have broken down and re-wrote them sooner, but as I said I had extremely high hopes that I would get them back. It sucks to loose something that you have written, like a part of you. This time I promise to take better care of them. Well without further a due...

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or any of the characters. Except the youma...I made her up.

Chapter 5

Mamoru

He stood alone in the dark abandoned warehouse, far from the noisy streets of the busy city. His familiar tuxedo clinging comfortably to his broad form. His breathing echoed loudly through the stagnant air, the only sound that could be heard in the dark and vacant building. Towers of empty crates were stacked in miscellaneous fashion throughout the place. Some which were adorned with stale filthy drop cloths. The pungent air wrinkled his nose, turning his face into a temporary sneer. There was only one logical reason for him to be in a place like this, there was a clue here to find his princess, he just had to locate it.

With that in mind, he began to wander around the rather large area, using the filtered moon light that was seeping through the paneled windows above to guide him around the stacks. He was pondering the idea of what he could possibly find in a warehouse about his princess, when abruptly he caught a glimpse of movement to his right. He spun quickly in that direction, but the image had already disappeared behind a large area of crates. He froze in place, and strained to listen in the area of the movement, but the only thing heard in the quiet air was still just his breathing.

'That doesn't seem right.' He thought to himself. 'If someone was there they would have made a sound.' He reasoned. He started over to the stack of crates to investigate. He closed the distance quickly, but before he could find anything another movement caught his eye on the opposite end of the building.

"_My Prince..._" The whisper was barley audible despite the vast silent space of the empty building.

'Could it be? My princess? In THIS place?" He thought with just a bit of wistfulness. He moved into the direction of the whisper, his heart rate accelerating with anticipation, his breaths more rapid and echoing even louder. When he approached the area where the quiet voices had emerged, the space was empty. Before he could contemplate this he heard more whispers coming from behind him on the other side of the large warehouse.

'Impossible!' He thought as he then started to sprint to the other side. The whispers were getting louder...he could just make out the voice. That familiar voice that always whispered to him.

"_My Prince...come to me_..." He arrived at the crates to find yet another empty space. Just then he heard movement from above. He glanced up to see none other than Sailor Moon standing on top of the crates. He immediately poised himself for attack.

'She is not my ally!' He had to remember that. But before he could react further she smiled at him and jumped to the top of another stack of crates.

"I know where the princess is." She teased him as she jumped from stack to stack.

"But im not going to tell you" She continued this unusual infuriating behavior as she chanted it over and over again.

"He wears a tuxedo

but he can't find his match,

I know where she is!

but I'm too fast to catch!"

She sang this again and again while jumping with inhuman speed on the tops of the crates. Tuxedo Kamen's patience was weaning. On what seemed like her thirtieth jump he took aim and unleashed a rose. It struck home, piercing her in the back effectively knocking her off the crates. She tumbled to the ground, wooden pieces encasing her as she landed with a loud thud on the hard surface of the warehouse.

He walked over to the now broken pile of crates that Sailor Moon was buried under, thinking of a tactical strategy to obtain the information from her. He knew after a fall like that she wouldn't be able to fight him back effectively. When he reached the pile, he couldn't even see her from all the wood. He began to remove pieces, but found a glove-less hand underneath instead of the white glove that he was expecting. He grabbed it and yanked the bundle out from underneath the wood. A blonde headed woman fell out. He gasped as he took a shocking step back, for he knew that little blonde. She rolled over and stared at him with hurt clearly visible in her eyes, bottom lip trembling.

"You...you threw a rose at me and knocked me down..." Usagi said to him, eyes brimming with tears. He dropped to his knees in front of her, horror from what he had done evident on his face.

"You know that I would have never intentionally hurt you Usako..." He tried to sooth. "I...I love you." He told her as he reached for her. At these words her tears instantly dried up, and she pulled away from his grasp and quickly stood to her feet in front of him, all previous injuries seeming to have dissipated.

"You love me?" She asked. "But what about your princess?" She demanded. Then, all in the space of blinking an eye, she morphed into a princess with a flowing white gown and a crescent moon visibly glowing on her forehead. "What about ME?" She demanded again. He could do nothing but stand frozen and stare in utter shock. Suddenly a blinding white light came in through the windows encasing the entire area with its radiancy. His eyes forcefully shut from the brilliance of it, and the last thing he heard were her screams before he shot straight up out of his bed.

His heart was pounding hard behind his ribs. Sweat slicked his skin and dampened his sheets. His familiar plain apartment walls surrounded him.

"It was a dream." He said it aloud, as if hearing it voiced that way would further convince himself of the fact. He swung his legs over the bed and placed his now pounding head inside of his hands. Dreams of his princess always woke him up forcefully, but they never had Sailor Moon or Usagi in them. He could reason out why Sailor Moon was in them. He was pretty adept at translating dreams. The warehouse obviously represented his life.

'And the fact that it was empty means that I am alone.' He thought with a bitter snicker. Finding his princess was his main priority in life, and the crates were his obstacles, Sailor Moon was on top of each and everyone, meaning she was the key to all of it. In his mind she held the answers.

'But why was Usagi there?' Maybe it was because of what had happened between them earlier today. His thoughts were then directed to the events that had taken place with Usagi in the park. For some reason the pull he had to this girl was overwhelming. Nearly equal to the pull his princess had on him. He thought about her heartbroken expression that she had been trying to hide from everyone. He only wanted to find out what was bothering her. Seeing her visibly distressed caused physical distress to him as well. He hadn't meant to kiss her, but when she had called him Mamo-chan, he couldn't hold back the intense feelings that had overpowered him with those words.

The kiss had been staggering. He doubted that any two people had ever had that kind of fire. His whole body had been aware of only her...his Usako. There was no thought or reason when he had kissed her. He was completely and utterly consumed by her. She almost made him want to give up his princess for her.

'But i just can't!' He reasoned. His princess was waiting for him. She needed him, was destined to be with him but...'I'm in love with Usagi.' There was no doubt about it. Especially not after what had just happened today. Two normal people don't devour each other in a public park in broad daylight because they are just friends. 'She feels the same way about me." He thought. 'But we cannot be together.' A painful moan escaped his lips at this. If he started a relationship with her and found the princess...he wasn't sure if either of them would survive it. 'If only you could have been my princess Usako...' His heart lurched longingly at the thought. But that wasn't the case. The Princess would be revealed to him once they finally came face to face. He was sure of it.

'Maybe then this connection I also have to Sailor Moon will be answered.' He mused. He lifted his head from his hands to stare in deep thought at the blank wall. There was no denying the connection there as well. He remembered his dream and the fact that he had intentionally hurt her, only to regret it seconds later. Would he feel that way in real life? He thought about it for a moment. He didn't want any harm to come to the senshi of the moon. He just wanted answers. 'Answers that she refuses to give me.' He bitterly thought. He was certain that the other senshi fueled her abstinence in providing those answers. 'I will just have to get her alone so that I can ask her some questions.' He plotted. 'Without the senshi's interference, I just might be able to get some of those answers, without causing any harm to the blonde beauty.'

Before he could argue with himself more on the subject, his connection flared, and he felt Sailor Moon transform. For the first time that night he felt better. A good fight was what he needed to take his mind off of things for a little while. And also a chance to try out his strategy. With that in mind he transformed and jumped out of his balcony to the awaiting rooftops, eagerly seeking out Sailor Moon and the fight that awaited him.

"MOON PRISM POWER" The words seemed to echo forever in the abandoned night park. Like so many times before, the senshi power flowed through my blood and transformed me; and with no time to spare. As soon as my feet hit the ground I was skillfully dodging another attack. For the hundredth time, I sent up a silent thanks to my Sailor Senshi for the intense training they bestowed upon me that allowed me to save my own skin countless times.

"Aww...this would go sooo much smoother if you just allowed me to kill you!" Complained the youma. I took her pause of frustration as a chance to hurl my tiara once again at her. Even briefly distracted, she still managed to dodge it with ease.

'I could sure use Mercury's computer right about now.' I thought to myself. I could defeat her more easily if I knew her weakness. I sent a wistful glance towards the water where my communicator was lying uselessly at the bottom. 'A lot of good bringing it with me did' I thought. The youma shot more arrows at me, some barely missing my flesh. I ducked behind a tree for quick cover just as three arrows zoomed by. I had to think of something and quick. It was obvious my tiara wasn't going to do the trick. My cover was quickly blown and I was once again on the run. Arrows pegging the ground behind me.

"Why won't you take one of my love arrows?" Asked the youma.

"Sorry." I yelled back at her. "I'm just not big on body piercings." I ran for more short cover behind another tree, trying to catch my breath.

"Come out and face me!" She wined. "My love arrow will put an end to all of your pain!" She continued to incessantly shoot the arrows in my direction. "Love arrows here! Come and get your love arrows!" She chanted obnoxiously.

'Jeez this youma talks about as much as she attacks.' I thought. Suddenly the attacks ceased, and I could no longer hear arrows flying through the air, or the chatty youma. 'Uh-oh...not again.' I thought as I prepared myself for her stealth attack. I slowly peeked around the tree. The night air was still and empty. 'Perhaps she disappeared again?' I thought. I slowly stepped out from behind the tree, cautiously surveying my surroundings.

'She must have vanished completely like before.' I reasoned. This youma seemed to like short and quick battles. Which only made her more dangerous. 'When she shows herself again I'm definitely going to have to make her moon dust.' I told myself. The night air continued to stay quiet. I had just started to relax when it happened. Suddenly, I heard the youma's cry of triumph from behind me. Then everything seemed to take place slowly. I distinctively heard arrows whizzing right by my face as I was knocked forcefully to the ground. My breath escaped my lungs, and then I felt the weight of that familiar male. The weight lifted briefly, and returned, and lifted again as we rolled rapidly across the soft grass, narrowly dodging the youma's repeated attacks.

We came to a stop behind bushes, my body lying on top of his. His broad muscular body that I felt even through his tuxedo. Enemies or not, and in the face of danger, there was no denying the connection I felt to this man; and for the hundredth time I wished he was on our side.

"You need to learn to watch you back!" Snapped Tuxedo Kamen as he firmly threw me off of him, all pleasant feelings vanishing. "There may be a time when I choose not to save you." He spat hatefully. Despite everything going on around us his words still made my eyes want to water. The youma's frustrated cries could be heard once again, beckoning us out of hiding.

"Well why do you even bother saving me?" I demanded as I stood to my feet, trying to find any sign that he might care. Before he answered, the youma appeared in front of us to hurl more attacks. We dove out of the way. Tuxedo Kamen threw his roses at her piercing her in the arms and chest. She bellowed in fury and pain at him, shooting more and more arrows his way. I took her sudden interest in him as a chance to duck behind one of the park's benches. I was getting tired of this cat and mouse game. Something had to be done.

Just then Tuxedo Kamen was right next to me taking refuge behind the large bench. Arrows pegged loudly against the metal relentless in their efforts.

"Just like you to cower behind something." He offensively stated to me. "I guess this means that you don't have a plan?" He sneered as the arrows continued to peg the bench as if searching for a way to penetrate it.

"It is for love!

"I shoot my arrow,

"Your head, your heart,

"into bone marrow!"

She sang as she released her arrows one after the other onto the park bench.

"I do TOO have a plan." I argued back with Tuxedo Kamen. This wasn't exactly a lie. If push came to shove I was going to use the silver crystal to destroy it. I just had to wait until he was not around...not exactly a great plan considering he was sitting right next to me but..."And look who's talking about cowering!" I yelled back at him. "You're in the same position as me!"

"You would be lying in a puddle of your own blood dead if it wasn't for me saving your pathetic ass." He rudely stated. My eyes pricked at his words, but i held back the tears. I would not give him the satisfaction.

"Then why?" I asked him.

"Why what?" He snapped.

"Why do you continue to rescue my '_pathetic ass_'?" I demanded again, searching his masked features for some hint of decency. He looked at me with cold features. His mouth then turned up into a wicked smirk.

"I can't interrogate you if you are dead." He said maliciously. My eyes widened as I fully understood his intentions towards me. He WAS bad. One of my enemies. My head helplessly shook back and forth with denial "And I WILL get my chance Miss Moon." He continued to threaten. His smirk vanished, and his voice then lowered menacingly. "Nothing and no one will keep me from finding my princess."

I stared in horror at the man next to me and made a quick decision. At that moment Tuxedo Kamen seemed a bigger threat to me than the bone marrow piercing arrows of the youma, and I jumped from behind the cover of the bench.

"There you are!" She exclaimed as her attacks were then aimed exclusively at me. I ran my fastest as the arrows landed behind me, right at the heels of my feet. As I was running, something was nagging at my brain...something that Tuxedo Kamen had said. I saw him then in my peripheral vision leave the confines of the bench, and jump into a tree. The Youma saw him as well. "Rose boy!" She yelled angrily as she ceased her attack on me and charged him. Apparently this youma held grudges.

Tuxedo Kamen was trying to outrun the youma by jumping from tree to tree, but the youma was very fast, and was gaining quickly. I knew it was only a matter of time before she caught up with him. I stood and watched the chase, struggling with the decision to help. He was jumping his fastest and longest, turning every once in a while to hurl a rose at his oncoming attacker, which did little to slow her down. The battle continued on, mirroring the one inside my head as I stood frozen in place, confused as to what to do.

'He is not on my side.' My mind tried to reason. 'He wants to hurt you...interrogate you...possibly destroy you.' Something again nagged at my mind. Some words that had been said. Suddenly I remembered...the last thing he had just said to me. The words had not registered because of all the odious words and threats that he had said right before. He said nothing and no one would keep him from finding HIS princess. 'He called me his!' The hope that filled me was tremendous. 'He could be another guardian...he could be on my side after-all!' Of course, I would have to find out his intentions before I made anymore assumptions. 'I will just have to interrogate HIM first!' I thought.

With that, the decision was instantly made to help him, unfortunately it came to late. I watched as Tuxedo Kamen turned to throw another rose as the youma, but she was right on top of him. She slammed into him hard, knocking him across the park. He landed hard on the ground a few hundred feet from my position. I watched as he tried to push himself up only to fall back onto the ground. My feet were already caring me full speed towards him.

'I've got to get to him.' This was the only coherent thought in my mind.

"..._finding my princess_." His words echoed in my head and I wanted nothing more than to save him. Suddenly the youma was over him, her bow pulled back tight.

"Aww, does rose boy hurt?" She asked. I was almost there. Just a few more feet. "Allow me to take away your pain with one of my love arrows... through your heart!"

"Nooooo!" I heard the scream come out of my mouth as the arrow was released. There was no thought process involved. I dove on top of him in front of the arrow's path. The pain was excruciating as it tore through my flesh. It traveled all the way through my right shoulder and went about an inch inside of Tuxedo Kamen's chest. The blow would have been fatal to him if it had hit him directly.

"You...you would die for him?" Asked the youma incredulously. I pulled away from Tuxedo Kamen effectively taking the arrow with me and rolled onto the ground next to him to face the youma. "That is...*sniff*...by far...*sniff*... the most...sweetest...*sniff*...act of love...*sniff*...I have ever seen!" To my utter astonishment, the youma broke out into a full blown sob.

"I...*hic*...can...*hic*...feel the love..." She said between sobs. "For that...*hic*...I will...*hic*...kill you both...*hic*...very quickly."

Through the haze of pain I registered that this was the weakness that I had wanted, and immediately took action. Still sitting on the ground next to the unconscious Tuxedo Kamen I called for the silver crystal's power.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" The still crying youma was re-loading her bow for the next attack when the white light from my crystal engulfed her form. She shrieked loudly and was immediately turned into dust, bringing the night park to silence once again. I pulled the power back and had to fight to stay upright from the use of it. I glanced down at Tuxedo Kamen who was still unconscious. He appeared to have hit his head but nothing life threatening.

'There is no way that I will be able to interrogate him now.' I thought, disappointed at the opportunity I was going to have to miss. But I was too weak and injured. I needed to make it to one of the Senshi's house so that I could heal. I glared at his form just as he quietly moaned. 'And before he wakes up and finds me,' I thought. I was in no condition to fight him off, and I was still unaware of his intentions towards me. I shakily stood to my feet, careful not to jar the protruding arrow in my shoulder. Fire burned down my back and arm with each and every tiny movement. My energy was nearly non existent as I swayed on my feet. I forced myself to move them, and put some distance between me and the caped man on the ground.

Tuxedo Kamen

The first thing he registered was the soft wet grass underneath him. He opened his eyes to the park lights glaring down on him from overhead.

'Is this another dream?' He bewilderedly thought as he leaned up into a sitting position and retraced his memories. His head protested with pain making him want to lie back on the cool grass, but he forced himself to his feet. It was with that movement that he noticed the pain in his chest. He pulled aside his shirt to investigate. 'Definitely not a dream this time.' He assured himself as he studied the cross like shaped puncture would right above his heart. The wound was only about an inch deep, but he wondered what could have caused it. He grabbed his throbbing head as he remembered what had happened.

He was fighting Sailor Moon...no wait, he was fighting a youma with Sailor Moon. He remembered the youma was fast, and that he was trying to outrun it. She had attacked him hard, obviously causing him to hit his head.

"But what happened after that?" He asked aloud to himself. "And where is the youma and Sailor Moon?" The youma could have captured her. But if that were the case he was sure that he would be either dead or taken also. 'Maybe she defeated the youma by herself and left.' He thought. He considered this highly unlikely, but decided to mentally probe their connection to see if she had de-transformed. He sensed that she hadn't. He also sensed that she was still in the area near him, but sensed no danger. The youma was obviously gone, and Sailor Moon was alone in the park.

"Maybe the night is not a complete waste." With that in mind he set out into the park confident that he would find her. Suddenly he heard a scream come from nearby. It was her, he was certain. With a grin he ran to the direction that the scream had come from.

"I've got you now Sailor Moon."

(A/N: Dun Dun Dun! So what did ya think? Again I am sorry and I hope that you all enjoyed it. I will have the next chapter out as soon as possible. Thank you to those who haven't given up on me.)


	7. Chapter 6

Hello minna! Here it is. The next chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I love to use these characters in my writing but alas they do not belong to me!

Sailor Moon

My progress was sluggish, but I gradually made my way through the park, my destination on the exit. The crisp night air that I had enjoyed on the onset of my night escapade now seemed more frigid, mocking my earlier preference to it. I had decided with very little deliberation, that Rei's temple was the closest to my current location, and that it would be the desired location to head to. Tuxedo Kamen was sure to be awake now, and hot on my trail. I had the thought deep in the recesses of my mind that I would not make it out of here before he found me, but I repressed it.

'Negativity hinders peoples abilities and often causes failure.' I reminded myself.

"So what if I have an arrow protruding from my shoulder," I said out loud to no one in particular, trying to lighten my crappy situation. "This isn't the worst shape I have been in." True that I had been in worse physical harm before this. "Besides, Rei can help me remove this thing." I continued to reassure myself. "I'll just keep moving and I will be there within ten minutes." I felt marginally better after telling myself this.

Suddenly the arrow that was in previous discussion started to glow a bright red. I felt my life energy being pulled from my body, and was unable to remain standing from the assault. I fell to my knees as the arrow continued its agonizing drain on me. I viscously fought back the grey dots that were dancing at the edge of my vision. The light soon receded and the arrow was soon just an arrow again. I managed to erect myself once more with considerable pain.

"Okay so now I have an energy draining arrow protruding from my shoulder." This sentence however, had no affect in reassuring me like the previous one, and I knew then that I was not going to make it to Rei's temple. I frowned at my next thought. 'I'm going to have remove the arrow from my body somehow.' I observed my surroundings as I tried to figure out a plan.

I had reasoned that I should at least remove myself from the main lighted path of the park, and began to make my way into the surrounding trees, which were less lighted and provided a bit more cover. I had just stepped into their cover when the arrow started to glow again, syphoning my energy once more. I groaned in pain as my knees buckled and I was once again on them, but in the soft grass.

When the light diminished from the arrow, I was on my hands and knees fighting to remain conscious. 'At this rate I will be dead with four or five more energy drains.' I thought as I fought to a sitting position so that I could examine the problematic arrow more easily. The filtered park light through the trees was dim, but was enough. Blood seeped out slowly from around it staining my fuku. I battled through the fog of agony that the pain was causing, and thought back to my first aid class. The teacher had said with impaled objects you were never supposed to remove them without medical attention first. 'Of course the objects of her discussion did not suck the life out of you.' I splenetically thought.

"A lot of good remembering that one did." I frowned as I continued to study it. It was some kind of a solid lustrous metal. I wasn't going to be able to just pull it out, I would likely cause more damage. Arrows were made to go in easily, but not come out so. I scowled at it as if that alone would remove it. I guess old habits die hard. The tail was protruding out of my back while the head was jutting out of the front of my shoulder. The head was pointed and sharp, but spread backward about two inches into a plus-like shape. The tail was not as sharp but just as hard with a tall metal fins extending in two directions. I needed a strategy. Suddenly I received an idea.

"If I could cut the end off, I would be able to pull it through with no additional damage." I said the idea out loud as if it would make the task easier to accomplish if I did so. Suddenly the arrow started its assault on me again. I placed my head in between my knees and held my breath, waiting for the pain to subside. My arms and legs seemed to become heavier with each pull of energy. Finally it faded away and I was able to sit back up, but not without the park spinning onto its side for a few seconds.

I had no time to think of another plan, I needed to act quickly. A few more energy withdrawals and I would cease to exist. I was acutely aware that my time was running out. I reached up with my uninjured arm and removed my tiara, this movement still causing me extreme pain. I held my breath once more as I dropped my shoulder forward, readying the arrow for the cut. The pain was immense and my vision blurred with the tears that had sprung to my eyes.

I positioned the now glowing disk in my hand to the back of my shoulder where the tail of the arrow resided, careful in my movements not to jostle it within my body. The tiara easily and quickly cut through the end of it, and I returned it to my forehead. With both hands I grasped the front of the arrow and readied myself for the oncoming pain, which was sure to be some of the worst I would ever feel.

I tried to take three deep breaths, but the tremendous pain I felt with that effort only allowed for two brief sips of air instead. The arrow was glowing red once again as if protesting my efforts to remove it. I fought through the energy drain and yanked the arrow with all the strength that I had. I was right.

My body crumpled onto the ground with the onslaught of pain as my scream could be heard piercing the silent air. The arrow fell to the ground next to me. I remained on the ground fighting unconsciousness, waiting for the intense pain to recede. I managed to fight to my knees once more when the threat of passing out left. When the worst of the pain abated, I struggled to stand to my feet with aid of the tree next to me.

Using the tree as a crutch, I Inched my way to my feet, and then continued leaning heavily onto it after I was erect. I glanced down at my shoulder. I studied the wound again through an even thicker haze of pain. My whole arm ached and burned with an unseen fire. The wound now unhindered, poured blood freely and rapidly. I didn't bother trying to reasure myself this time. I needed to get to someplace safe, and I did not have the energy.

'Tuxedo Kamen was sure to have heard my scream.' I thought to myself. 'And he will be closing in on my location any moment.' I looked around with panic clearly visible on my features. There was no way I was going to be able to fight him off. 'And I'm not even sure if he will hurt me or not.'

I had to at-least try to get away. Keeping to the darkness of the trees and heavily using their support, I tried inching my way further along, but made little progress. My arms and legs felt heavy like each were weighted down with invisible weights, making it difficult for me to walk. I had only moved to the next tree over. I fought the tears of despair that threatened to arise. I did not have the extra energy to shed them and they would not help my situation anyway.

Suddenly I heard a movement ahead of me coming from the path of the park. I saw through the trees, the silhouette of Tuxedo Kamen, as he ran into the area near the location that I was sort of hiding in, and slowed down to a walk. I watched him grab his head, no doubt aching from the blow he had sustained. Very shortly after this he was alertly scanning the area with eyes, systematically checking every visible space.

I knew that he could sense me nearby. The connection allowed him to. I also knew that my breaths were becoming heavy with each second due to the loss of blood and the exertion of energy I was using to remain standing. I knew if and when he got closer to my hiding form, he would hear me. It was only a matter of time. He glanced in my direction and paused. When the corner of his lip slanted up I figured that he had caught the sight of my white fuku reflecting the distant park's lights.

'Why couldn't it have been navy blue?' I thought to myself as I anxiously watched him walk towards my location. Soon he was also inside the cover of the trees, a mere twenty or so feet from me. He stopped when he caught sight of me leaning against the tree, and I wished with all my fervor that I knew what he was thinking. If he was going to hurt me, help me, or just leave me in the park to die. The idea of jumping in front of the arrow to save him seemed ridiculously absurd to me now.

"Where is she?" His deep voice rumbled as he began to walk towards me. His dark eyes staring at me as if they could bore a hole through my head and find the answers there themselves. I tried to shift back from his advance, but my weak limbs refused the process. The gray dots were surrounding the edge of my vision, and I knew that this was a battle I would not win. Blood was now making its way down the back of my legs. I could feel the cool air touching my blood stained skin. Trying to think past the pain, I looked up at the approaching man, just as a thought entered into my mind...

'Protect the crystal at all costs...' My arms and legs were seeming more and more distant from my body. With the last of my strength, I focused my energy into my locket, and pulled the silver crystal deep inside of my body. I felt my transformation fade away from my body as my world tipped violently sideways. I heard an audible gasp, followed by "Odango..." as the gray dots consumed my vision and gave way to blackness.

Tuxedo Kamen

He made it to the area where her scream had originated, and within minutes was searching the area. There was no sign of her anywhere on the main pathway. He grabbed his pounding head for a moment before continuing, longing for some pain medication. He slowly walked keeping his eyes on every shadow, and his ears on every sound. He sensed her close by and knew it was only a matter of time before he found her. And when he did...Suddenly he caught a glimpse of white deep within the trees. He stopped and strained to make out the shape in the dark.

'It looks like the right shape and size.' He thought as his lips split into a side grin. He started walking again in that direction. When he broke the cover of the trees he could see that it indeed was Sailor Moon. She was leaning against a tree as if she were exhausted. His walk was just a bit smug as he closed his distance to the small senshi of the moon. His gait smooth and phlegmatic. Finally he was going to get the answers he wanted.

"Where is she?" He asked. He had her right where he needed her...trapped...alone...and with no escape. He could just make out the wide eyes and ashen face in the dim distant lighting of the park. His stride grew even more confident. She hadn't even bothered to answer his question but it did not matter.

'She knows that I have her, and that she cannot escape me this time.' He continued to study her pallid features in that light as he proceeded with his advance. 'Fear can make you look so vulnerable,' He chuckled to himself as he stalked yet even closer to his prey. He was right on top of her now. But before he could enjoy another minute of his success in trapping the blonde beauty, a light began to shimmer off of Sailor Moon.

The light blasted out into the night, illuminating for a few brief moments a large radius in the darkness of the park. He froze in place, his menacing smile vanishing instantly. He watched, his form rigid with fascination and horror, as the jewels faded from her hair and forehead. Her boots and gloves followed suit, as did the sailor fuku. Clothes then materialized on a small blonde that he recognized immediately.

"Odango...Atama..." He whispered in horror as he watched her body slump lifelessly forward immediately following the change. His body reacted in a split second, as it always did in connection with her, and caught her before she could collide with the ground. He cradled her in his arms as his own body dropped to his knees on the cool grass in complete incredulity. Her small form fit perfectly inside the confines of his arms, then again she always fit perfectly inside of his arms. It was one of the many things that always confused him about her. That she could be made so perfectly for him. His Odango Atama...his Usako. He starred down at her for what seemed like minutes fighting the battle of shock, disbelief, and questions raging inside his head.

'She can't be Sailor Moon,' he desperately thought to himself. Surely the girl that he was in love with couldn't be one of his enemies! Had he really thought about interrogating her just moments before? He wanted it to not be true...to be some really bad dream that he would soon awaken from. It seemed at that moment as if time had stopped, and that nothing in the world made any sense. The fates could not be so cruel as to have him love a girl he cannot find, be in love with a girl he cannot have, and make his best friend his nemesis also! But the proof was there, lying lifelessly in his arms. He starred wide eyed at the blood soaked body of his Odangos. A single thought was then able to slice through the turmoil within his mind.

'Odangos...blood?' He stood up with her still in his arms to head towards the park light, when his foot stepped on something hard. He glanced down and saw the shiny arrow, covered in blood. 'She was hit with an arrow.' He thought. But why in the hell would she pull it out? He knelt down, careful not to jostle her, to get a closer look when a familiar shape caught his eye. The head of the arrow was shaped like an plus, or a cross. 'Just like the wound on my chest!' He thought. When he got too close to the arrow, it started glowing a vicious red as if it sensed the life form it had just drained nearby.

He backed up immediately, understanding fully why she had to pull it out, and stood to sprint towards a lamp in the park, intent on examining her more closley. With the aid of the park light, he caught a glimpse of a rather large wound pouring blood from her shoulder. Blood not only soaked her front shirt, but her back as well. The arrow had gone all the way through her.

'But it only knicked me.' A new understanding fell upon him as he then realized what had happened. 'Sailor Moon took an arrow for me.' And with the position of the wound in his chest it was sure to have been his last. 'She...she saved my life risking her own.' He then thought back to all of the cruel things that he had just said to her before, and his eyes pricked with tears. No wonder his sweet Odangos was so tormented. 'And because of ME!' He thought.

"Never again Odango Atama." He told her as he glanced down at her pallid features. She was looking more and more lifeless. This caused a new kind of fear to rear up inside of him, threatening to choke him. All of this new understanding would be for nothing if she died. He didn't think he could survive it if she did. She was cold, and she was bleeding to death in his arms, in the middle of the park. His head spun from the terror and panic that was already squeezing tight in his throat. Tears from the fear of losing her leaked out the corners of his eyes and danced quietly down the length of his face, now ashen with trepidation. So much blood that had already been lost...and the last hateful words he had said to the girl he loved...

'She can't die!' He told himself, as he fought viciously not to let the panic and fear take over. He had to think rationally through the anguish and anxiety that was mercilessly battering him, and reason out a plan. He looked up to the trees in thought trying to calm his emotions in order to reason out what needed to be done. He had studied this many times, but when it was someone you cared about who's life was in your hands, it was more difficult. With fractionally calmer emotions, he was able to think. The thought soon came quickly.

'I have to stop the bleeding,' With that he slowly and carefully lowered her to the ground so that he could reach behind him and remove his cape. He tore a strip from it and set it aside. He then tore two more pieces and folded them tightly. He lifted her gently to position one of the tightly folded pieces of fabric over the wound in the front, and then just as carefully placed the other on the wound in the back. A slow moan escaped her lips when he applied pressure to the wounds.

"I know it hurts baby." He soothed as he used the strip that he had ripped moments earlier, to wrap around her body and hold pressure on the two pieces that were already firmly against her. "That will stop the bleeding Usagi." He continued to talk to her, more for his benefit than hers. He then removed his jacket, and using it as a blanket wrapped it around her to keep her warm. He wanted to take her pain away. He wanted to take back all the hateful things that he had ever said to her. He gently lifted her into his arms and ordered himself to think of what to do next.

'There's definitely no way I can take her to a hospital,' he began to argue with himself. 'They would know imediately that she wasn't normal.' He had gathered this bit of information from a conversation he had overheard between the senshi after they had fought a battle a few years back. He had stayed around in hopes of them revealing something inadvertently about his princess. Which, of course, did not happen.

Sailor Venus had been scortched a little by Mar's attack, and he had heard them debating on a doctor. Mars had informed her that she and all the rest of them healed ten times faster than normal people due to there senshi powers, and that she would be almost completely healed by time they reached the doctor.

He once again glanced down at the unconcious Odangos inside of his arms. No, he couldn't risk the doctors. One tested drop of blood and they would use her as a guinea pig to run all kinds of experiments. The thought of this sent more shivers of fear down his spine, immediately tightening his hold around her.

"No one is going to lay a finger on you Usako." he told her unconscious form as he pulled her yet even closer against his body. He would take her to his apartment, clean and bandage her wounds, and pray that it wasn't too late for her

healing powers to heal her. With his plan in motion, he took off like a shot. With hardly a whisper in the wind, he disappeared into the night, Usagi nestled safely in his arms.

(AN: Well...there it is. I hope it still lives up to all the expectations of everyone. And I have already thought to myself that they are completely clueless when it comes to each other being the prince and princess but lets face it...if they were not clueless I would not have a very long story. *grins* To those of you that were expecting it to leave the park...next time. Expect a bit of a writers block with the next chapter. Mamoru's apartment is a very important chapter. Depending on what I write it could end quickly or keep going, and I'm still indecisive. Thank you for all the feedback and more is welcome. I will try and have the next chapter out as soon as possible.)


	8. Chapter 7

(A/N: Hello Minna! Sorry about the wait. That's really all i have to say. That and the fact that I don't own Sailor Moon. -Disclaimer. Enjoy!)

Chapter 7

Tuxedo Kamen:

The night air was cold, insuring that the hold on his bundle would be tightly placed against him. The streets of Tokyo were nearly empty, void of the usual inhabitants that bustled through its busy roads day by day. He swiftly jumped from rooftop to rooftop, completely focused on his only goal. In quick time he was on top of the building in front of his own. He easily jumped straight onto his balcony from the rooftop, and slid open the door, which he habitually kept unlocked. This being because he was on the top floor, and because he was pretty sure he was the only caped hero jumping the rooftops of Tokyo.

Wasting no time, he carried Usagi, who was still wrapped inside of his jacket, directly to his bathroom, grabbing towels and fresh bandages on the way.

'I need to make sure the bleeding has stopped.' He switched on the sink water to warm before he carefully lowered the two of them to the bathroom floor. Once they were settled there with Usagi snugly in his lap, he began the gentle task of removing the jacket and bandage that he had placed there earlier. He let out a small sigh of relief when all the bandages were removed and he noticed that the bleeding had stopped. He hugged her close to him for a moment.

"It's up to you now Odango Atama." As long as she hadn't lost too much blood she would pull through. He carefully removed her bloody shirt. He was completely focused on the task at hand, but in the back of his mind he still noticed how absolutely perfect she was. Using more of the medical training that he received in college, he cleaned the wound and studied it before he bandaged it. The arrow appeared to have missed the tendons and bones and gone clean through, which was another small sigh of relief. Given the magnitude of the injury, she was still going to be sore for a few days, even with her accelerated healing.

He proceeded to bandage her wound with clean gauze, and wrapped it so that her right arm was snug against her body. He didn't want her moving that arm suddenly. One, it would be very painful for her, and he wanted to take as much pain away from her as possible. And two, with a sudden movement she could tear the wound and cause it to bleed again. He stripped her jeans off because they also had her blood on them. He washed her stained skin with soapy warm towels, still holding her in his lap. When he was done he carefully stood with her and walked into his bedroom. He pulled out a thin robe from his closet that he had owned since he was in grade school to wrap her in. It was the only thing he had that would fit her petite form, and he didn't want her waking up mostly naked in a strange man's bed. Sitting her on his lap on the bed, he carefully threaded her good arm through the arm hole, leaving her injured one underneath the robe. He belted it in the front before he stood back up with her. He reluctantly laid her onto his bed, not really wanting to relinquish his hold on her.

'What the hell am I going to do?' His hands grabbed his face, rubbing at the invisible stress and pain. He was in love with the girl in his bed, but in no way could he betray his princess. 'But I can't betray Odango Atama either.' He lifted his head and stared at her sleeping form. She was still the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen, even pale with blood loss. He leaned over her to place a gentle kiss on her softly parted lips.

Only when she was tucked snugly under his covers and he was satisfied that she was safe did he leave her. He walked into his kitchen to retrieve some pain medication for his pounding head. He peeked back in on Usagi before he headed back to the bathroom. He closed the door and de-transformed. He cleaned his own wound and bandaged it, noticing that it was already healing rapidly.

After he was done with the bandaging, he started to clean up the bathroom. He grabbed Usagi's clothes from the floor.

'Maybe I can wash them and try to get them clean for her.' He turned to walk out of his bathroom to do just that, when he heard something land onto the floor beneath him with a loud _clink_. He looked down and noticed what looked like a brooch. He recognized it from the front of Sailor Moon's fuku. Now that he knew her identity he could now admit that he recognized it from the front of Usagi's school uniform also. 'It must be of importance to her if she carries it around with her everywhere.'

He pondered this a moment before he picked it up and turned it around in his hand to study it. The crease around the middle had him pulling it open to look inside. There was nothing in it, but there was an indention in the shape of a circle as if it held something.

"Why would she carry around an empty brooch?" This confused him to no end and had him studying the brooch even harder. He ran his fingers around the indention, as he tried to puzzle out what would fit there. Suddenly his fingers froze in place as his mind imagined a round crystal fitting perfectly inside. Perhaps the Silver Crystal?

'Impossible!' His hand dropped down to his side as his head reeled from the possibility. 'Then that would mean that Sailor Moon is...that Usagi would be...' He tried to wrap his mind around the idea as he stared dumbfounded at the brooch in his hand. His heart had started pounding in his chest at the thought. That would explain his connection to both Sailor Moon and his Usako. He stared in the direction towards his bedroom. His Usako.

'She risked her life to save me.' And now there was a chance she could be his princess. His princess...there with him...after all that time...His heart felt like it was going to pound right out of his chest. He made himself calm down and relax. 'It could still just be a coincidence.' His pounding heart sank at that thought making him realize how much he really was in love with his Odango Atama. He badly wanted it to be her. 'Which means that my judgement on the matter could be off.' his mind further reasoned.

'I won't know for sure until I can talk with her.' And he wasn't sure when that would be, or how she would react to him being Tuxedo Kamen. The last time he had talked to her as Mamoru was right before their earth shattering kiss, in which she had run away crying right afterwards. 'Not exactly a good set up for an important conversation... "That kiss was a doozy eh? By the way I'm Tuxedo Kamen." ...Yeah that would go by very well.' He walked into his bedroom, the brooch still in his hand, and stared down at Usagi's sleeping form. He noticed out of the corner of his eye the soft morning sky peeking in through the window. 'I will have to talk with her as Tuxedo Kamen when she wakes up.' He frowned as his chest tightened with remorse.

'I said some pretty hateful things to her...even made her believe that I was her enemy.' She would most likely be angry, or even worse frightened of him. 'I'll just have to talk with her nice and calm.' He could get her to trust Tuxedo Kamen before he showed her his identity. Besides, he owed her his life, and he would let her know that he was in her debt. He laid the brooch on the table next to the bed. Princess or not, he was confident that she would talk to him, and that very soon he would know who and where she was. He rubbed at his chest. For the first time ever, he didn't feel the outright excitement of finding her, instead only the gut wrenching heartache he would feel if he lost his Usako.

Senshi

Ami Muzino stood at the usual corner spot in the morning and waited for her friends and fellow senshi. She became a little worried when she had first walked up and didn't see Usagi standing there. Usagi always beat them there in the mornings, had so for a while. Before she could worry anymore she wasn't alone. Her friends had started to file in one by one. Starting with Rei.

"Hey Ami-chan. Where's Usagi?" Rei also noticed immediately that she was not there.

"I'm not sure." Replied Ami. "When I walked up she was not here."

"Well she was feeling sick yesterday, maybe she took a day off." Makoto said as she joined the group.

"Or she slept in." Implied Minako as she too walked up.

"Maybe you guys are right." Said Ami, but she still didn't like the fact that Usagi was not there. "You guys have heard about the strange tooth infection epidemic right?" Minako let out a sarcastic snort at this statement.

"Who ever heard of a tooth ache epidemic? Sounds a bit like an evil power is at play to me." She said.

"I agree. It's definitely something to keep an eye on." Said Makoto.

"Well whatever it is people have been missing work and school all over the city because of it. It's all over the news." Implied Ami. "We need to get in touch with Usagi, to see if she's okay."

"I'll call her on the communicator." Said Makoto as she pulled it out of her pocket. She flipped it open and pushed the button to call Usagi. Everyone was quiet while they waited for a response. Four worried frowns soon followed when she did not receive an answer.

"I think we should go check on her." Said Ami. The others nodded in agreement to this.

"Well I have a little more time because my school is closer." Supplied Rei. " I can swing by her house to see if she's there before I go." She too did not like the idea of Usagi not able to be reached, as did the rest of the senshi. Usagi was their friend, leader, and their princess. They were all fiercely protective of her.

"Okay Rei-chan. That sounds like a plan." Said Makoto. "Call us on the communicator when you contact her."

"I will." She bowed respectfully to the others before turning to leave. She started in the direction of Usagi's house, which was about four blocks away.

"You better be really sick Odango Atama for me to risk being late for you." She mumbled as she jogged down the street. She didn't really want Usagi sick, she just wanted her to be safe and sound in her home. It was unlike Usagi not to call anyone, even if she was sick. This had her worrying to no end.

She rounded the corner and was soon running down the street that Usagi's house was on. She was about to run up to the door when a movement above her caught her eye. It was Luna climbing down from the window. The cat gracefully jumped onto the ground and walked towards Rei.

"Luna-chan...where's Usagi?" Rei wasted no time in her efforts. The worry for her best friend was increasing by the minute.

"I was hoping that you would have that answer. When I woke up this morning she was already gone. I haven't seen her since about two thirty in the morning." With this, the worry that Rei was experiencing quickly turned into fear.

"She wasn't with the group this morning either." She glanced down the street as if Usagi would run out any moment, the fear tightening in her chest.

"This is not good." Said Luna. "She could be in danger...we have to call the other scouts." Rei nodded in agreement as she continued her stare down the street, wishing with everything inside her that Usagi was okay. She soon broke her gaze and looked down to speak with the guardian.

"Go to my temple and wait. I'll call the others to meet us there." Luna nodded her response before turning to sprint down the street. Rei quickly fished out the communicator from her pocket and was soon calling Makoto.

"Makoto here." She responded quickly.

"Hey it's me."

"Oh hey Rei. You don't have to worry about going to school today." She informed her.

"Why is that?"

"There's so many students and teachers that are missing because of the strange tooth thing that they called all the schools closed for today." She informed her. "It's really strange...we're going to have to investigate this. No doubt it's evil forces at work here."

"That's fine but, we've got bigger problems." Supplied Rei.

Makoto's face was instantly serious as she asked the question that she deep down already knew the answer to.

"Where's Usagi?" Rei paused for a second as she battled the fear inside for her friend before she answered.

"Usagi's missing." She was sure the worry and fear was written all over her face because Makoto's soon mirrored hers.

"You mean like missing person missing?"

"I mean like no one has seen her for a while and she hasn't contacted anyone missing." She said.

"That's not like Usagi."

"I know Mako-chan. We have to look for her. I need you to get the rest of the senshi and meet me at the temple as soon as you can." Makoto nodded to this and closed the connection.

Within the half hour the senshi and the two guardian cats were gathered at Rei's temple discussing Usagi.

"I'm really worried you guys." Said Minako. "This is so unlike her to disappear without so much as a word...did anyone see her after she left the crown yesterday?"

"I remember that she left with Mamoru." Said Makoto. "I wonder if he knows anything...somebody should contact him..."

"That most likely won't help with anything Mako-chan." Luna spoke up. "I saw Usagi sleeping in her bed yesterday afternoon. She woke up at about two or so in the morning, and told me that she was going downstairs to get some food from the kitchen. I...I fell back asleep...and that was the last time that I saw her." She hung her head low in shame. Artemis walked over to her and affectionately nudged her with his head.

"Hey...it's not your fault she disappeared...don't beat yourself up. Your the best guardian a person could have." He told her. She lifted her head to smile at him.

"I agree with Artemis." Said Ami. "I know that we are fiercely protective of her, but Usagi is a big girl. Has anybody tried her again on the communicator?"

"I tried her about ten minutes ago." Said Minako. "There was still no response."

"Are we even sure she has it with her?" Asked Rei.

"Her brooch and communicator we missing from her night stand this morning." Informed Luna. "She has to have it with her."

"That's great news Luna-chan! I can use my computer to track her communicator and hopefully pinpoint her location." Said Ami as she pulled out her Mercury computer and began typing. With the three senshi and two guardians looking on over her shoulder , she put in the necessary information to locate the communicator. "Okay I got it...locating...locating...there! It says she's in the park."

"Are you sure?" Asked Minako, receiving "the look" from Ami instead of a response.

"That's not that far away, what would she be doing there...and why doesn't she answer?" Asked Rei.

"I'm not sure why, but you guys should transform before you go...we need to be ready for anything." Instructed Luna. The four nodded before pulling out there transformation wands and transforming.

"MECURY STAR POWER!"

"VENUS STAR POWER!"

"MARS STAR POWER!"

"JUPITER STAR POWER!"

"MAKE-UP!" They shouted the last all at once as the temple filled with the bright and colorful lights of the senshi's power.

The run to the park was quick, and soon Mercury was scanning the area with her computer to more accurately pinpoint Usagi's location. The senshi scanned the area with their eyes while waiting for the computer's response.

"Over there by the lake!" Informed Mercury as the computer beeped with its findings. They quickly ran to the lake only to find no one there.

"She's not here Mercury!"

"Yeah where is she?"

"I thought that thing was accurate!"

"It is accurate!" She snapped at them, trying to quiet them all the while defending her equipment. "The signal is coming from the middle of the lake." She said.

"The middle? But nobody is out th..." Sailor Venus trailed off when she realized what that meant, her heart sinking to her stomach.

"Do you mean she's..." Sailor Mars couldn't even finish the words to ask, as Sailor Jupiter crouched to jump into the lake, eyes already wet with tears.

"Jupiter wait!" Mercury grabbed her friends arm before she could dive in.

"WAIT? If she just went under there is still a chance that we could save her!" She shouted, her tears mixing with her words. Mercury's scanning shield appeared in front of her eyes as she scanned the lake over. A sigh of relief soon escaping her lips.

"She's not under there." She informed the rest.

"Wait...What?" Asked Jupiter.

"What do you mean she's not under there? I thought that your computer was accurate?" Questioned Sailor Venus.

"It IS accurate Venus." She said this with just a bit of vexation. "My scanning shows that her communicator is at the bottom of the lake, but Usagi is not." An audible sigh of relief could be heard from Sailor Jupiter. Usagi wasn't fish bait at the bottom of the lake after all.

"So she's still missing...why would she throw her communicator at the bottom of a lake?" Pondered Sailor Mars.

"Some thing must have happened...how are we going to track her now?" Asked Venus.

"I'm not sure." Sailor Mercury answered.

"So it's just her communicator down there? Not her brooch?" Asked Jupiter. Sailor Mercury closed her eyes and concentrated.

"MERCURY POWER!" She yelled as she concentrated her senshi powers to stir the water. A vortez-like funnel soon appeared in the middle of the lake. The lost communicator was sucked up the vortex and shot up to the awaiting bank. It landed with a thud right at Sailor Venus' feet.

"Just the communicator." Said Mercury as she relaxed her powers and the water vortex dissipated.

"That was way cool Mercury." Complimented Sailor Jupiter. Mercury smiled in response, as Venus bent to retrieve it.

"So we can assume that she still has her brooch on her." Pressed an anxious Sailor Mars. "And is there anyway to track it?"

"No I can't track her brooch but...I may be able to track the silver crystal." She pulled out her computer and began typing again. "You see...the silver crystal puts out a high energy level that my computer is familiar with. By searching for the concentrated energy that the crystal releases I can accurately pinpoint its location, thereby finding Usagi."

"Just don't lead us to anymore lakes okay?" Joked Sailor Jupiter. She had come to close for comfort in thinking that Usagi was gone.

"Uh-oh...this can't be good..." Said Sailor Mercury as her computer began to beep wildly.

"What? What's happened? Is Usagi okay? Where is she?" Asked Jupiter.

"I don't know...and it looks like we're going to have to postpone our search for a bit." She replied as she continued to analyze the beeping computer.

"What is it?" Asked Sailor Mars, looking around at the same time as if she sensed something.

"Youma twelve o'clock!" Warned Mercury as the computer beeped even louder. "My output of energy must have attracted it here!" The senshi readied themselves for an attack just as evil laughter could be heard. Suddenly the youma appeared in front of them. This one wasn't like the other one they had recently fought. She was purple in color, and was adorned with bracelets and necklaces fashioned with thousands of teeth.

"Tooth ache!" Shouted the youma as it proceeded to shoot small sharp objects in the sensh's direction. They all took evasive action and dived out of the way of the flying objects. One of the objects piercing the heel of Sailor Venus' pumps before she was behind the cover of a nearby tree. She looked down to see what had wedged itself into her shoe and noticed that the flying object in question was actually a tooth.

"Oh my God that is soooo disgusting!" She shouted as she stared at the dirty tooth protruding out. "Watch out you guys! She's shooting nasty teeth!" She warned the others, causing her cover to be blown quickly. the youma appeared before her to shoot more of the gross off white projectiles at her.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION! Mercury's attack succeeded in freezing the attack on the senshi of love, who took the opportunity to use an attack of her own.

"VENUS CRESENT BEAM SMASH!" Her attack hit the youma squarely in the chest sending it flying backwards scattering teeth around it. "Take that you dirty disgusting denture despenser! She yelled.

"Nice word play Venus," Complimented Sailor Mars as she too threw an attack at the youma. More teeth scattered as the fiery attack slammed into the youma.

"Careful you guys! This has to be the youma responsible for all the sick people around town!" Warned Mercury. The youma stood to its feet again but didn't ready itself for an attack.

"Trying to get these poeple's energy is like having teeth pulled!" Exclaimed the youma. "I'll just search elsewhere." Suddenly the youma disappeared into thin air.

"Where did it go?" Asked a revved up Sailor Jupiter as Mercury began typing on her computer once more.

"Not again!" Exclaimed Sailor Venus. "These things keep leaving in the middle of our battles!"

"Perhaps its a new strategy?" Suggested Mars. "Like hop scotch."

"The signal on the youma has completly vanished but..." Explained Sailor Mercury, face still buried in her computer.

"But what?"

"I've pinpointed the location of the silver crystal...it's in the downtown district."

"Then that's where we'll find Usagi!" Exclaimed Sailor Jupiter, excited at the new prospects of finding their lost leader.

"Then we're wasting time...let's go!" Mars said. They all nodded before they took off rapidly out of the park towards the downtown district, only one thought on all of their minds.

'We're coming Usagi!'

(A/N: OMG! What is going to happen next? *grins* Sorry it took so long to post this chapter. The next should be out a lot faster seeing as my writer's block has lifted. Feed back is very welcome, and I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.)


	9. Chapter 8

(A/N: Hello Minna! Sorry it has taken so long getting this chapter out. I'm on night shift right now and it has thrown my whole routine off. I've pretty much concluded that night shift is the food for the writer's block monster. Anyways...enjoy.

Disclaimer: If you let me borrow them I promise to give them back! :)

Chapter 8

Usagi

I was floating in a thick mass of blackness. Instead of this disturbing me, the darkness was soothing...comfortable. It was so comfortable, that my mind didn't even question the reason why I was there. My limbs were pleasantly weightless, while the cloudy haze that fogged my mind resisted any rational thoughts from surfacing. It was too soon however, that the black fog lifted, and my mind began to surface.

The first thing that I realized, was that I was lying down on something too soft to be the ground. Next came the pain. I felt it hot and searing throughout my right shoulder and arm. I soon remembered everything that had happened. The memory of it all had me cautiously opening my eyes to assess my situation. The sight that greeted me was a white ceiling. The fear of that white ceiling belonging to a hospital had me glancing around the room shortly after. The room was empty except for a dresser, a bed side table, and the bed, which I easily concluded was the soft thing that I in fact lying on.

The walls were also white, but there was no beeping machines or anything inside that remotely resembled a hospital. It was then that I noticed the sheets that I was lying on were silk, and covering my form was a comfortable thick comforter.

'Okay definitely not the hospital.' If this wasn't a hospital, then I was at somebody's place, but whose? 'Okay think Usagi. The last person who saw you was Tuxedo Kamen.' I tried to imagine the mysterious Tuxedo Kamen having a normal looking place like this, but couldn't. 'His place or not, I could be in serious danger.'

I decided that I would try my luck, and try to escape. I was Sailor Moon...I could totally escape a bed in a strange room. I went to move myself into a sitting position, and that's when I noticed that my right arm was bandaged tightly to my waist, preventing me from moving it. I also noticed that instead of my clothes, I was wearing a rather comfortable robe. 'Is this robe silk too? Well somebody is taking care of me.' I thought. Using only my good arm, I managed to sit up. This took considerable effort, and immediately had me questioning if I could escape like I previously had thought. I was very weak. The white room tilted a bit once I had erected myself.

I glanced over to where the night stand was and saw to my amazement my transformation brooch. Obviously my captor didn't know its importance, or he didn't think of me as a hostage. I liked the later of the two explanations the best, but I didn't want to stay there to test the theories. I leaned over to reach for my brooch, but I never made it. Instead of holding me in place as I grabbed for the brooch, my stupid weak body was unable to accomplish this, and I found myself continuing to fall forward. Gravity took hold of me thwarting my attempt, and soon had me falling out of the bed. I landed with a loud _thud_, followed by an "Ow!". I was somewhat relieved to have landed on my good arm, and using it, I pushed myself over to my back.

Instead of starring up at the white ceiling like I was expecting, broad shoulders and a familiar mask covered face stared back down at me. I let out a startled yelp, as I tried to push myself up in a futile attempt at eluding him. My body was on full alert with the recognition of my captor, and the only thought on my mind was to get away. He was speaking softly to me, but I wasn't listening to him. I was only listening to my mind screaming at me to escape. Suddenly I stopped in my struggles to leave, which were very poor at best, when what he was saying penetrated through the terror.

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." I froze as he continued speaking softly to me. "Your safe here." I glanced up at him and to my surprise saw no signs of anger or abhorrence in his features. Just what appeared to be genuine concern. I relaxed a bit. Being more gentle than I thought was possible, he carefully scooped me off of the floor and lay me back on the bed. Not wanting to be lying down, I tried to sit back up. He just as gently helped me accomplish this and propped a pillow behind my back so that I could remain so. I stared at him like he had grown two heads. He must have noticed my confusion.

"Look..." He started to begin, rubbing the back of his neck in a small sign of nervousness. "I know what you did for me." When I said nothing and continued to stare, he sat down on the bed next to me and grabbed my hand. "I know that you dived in front of that arrow." His statement had me quickly looking away in embarrassment. A gloved hand under my chin quickly brought my gaze back. "I know that you risked your life to save me...even after..." He pulled his hand away with a sigh as his other began to rub the back of his neck again. This had to be the most emotions that I had ever witnessed from him, and it had me watching and listening to him more intently.

"You took an arrow for me even after I said those awful things to you. I just want you to know that I'm in your debt, and that I'm not going to hurt you." I continued to stare at him as I digested what he had said. He seemed genuinely sincere.

'If he wanted to hurt you he wouldn't have been so gentle. And he wouldn't have made sure that you didn't bleed to death.' I thought back to the park, and how I most likely would have if it weren't for him. 'Besides, he knows your identity now.' I cringed a bit at the thought. The senshi were not going to be happy about it. 'That is if I'm ever allowed to leave here.' The thought brought forth the next question.

"What do you plan to do with me?" I timidly asked him. My voice sounded small even to myself, and I blamed it on my body's weakness. He sighed once more before once again grabbing for my hand.

"You're not my prisoner here. You are free to go at any given time. But I recomend that you at least heal a bit first." His words shocked me, and had me sputtering out the next sentence.

"But..you said that you wanted to..."

"I know what I said to you." He interupted me before I could finish. His hand left mine to once again find the back of his neck, the display of emotions enhancing the meaning of his words and wiping away my doubts of them. "I'm sorry I said those things to you. I never would have hurt you. My only intentions were to find my princess." He held out his hand to me. "Maybe we could start over and be friends?" His words had me frozen in place. He had said those words again. The same ones he had used in the park..."My princess". My hand found its way into his as I continued to stare at him. I would have been lying if I said that I didn't feel the warm electrical sensation traveling up my arm through the contact. Minutes seemed to pass before I asked the question that was on my mind.

"What do you want with her?" With this statement he broke our contact.

"With the princess?" I nodded my response. His features quickly turned serious. "So you admit to knowing her?" I hesitated for a second before once again nodding my answer.

"Do you...do you mean her harm?" I couldn't help but ask. I had to know. He sighed as he looked away from me. He stared at the wall for a moment in deep thought. Another sigh escaped his lips before he began to speak.

"Ever since I was a little boy, a woman has appeared in my dreams. I have never seen her face, but my whole being recognizes her as the princess...as _my_ princess. She whispers to me to help her and to find her. I have been searching ever since." His gaze once again found mine and his words were sincere. "I know that I have given you no reason to help me, but I promise you that I mean no harm to her whatsoever, and I only want to find her so that I may protect her. It's what I'm destined to do."

His words shocked me to say the least. I stared at him for a long time while trying to make sense of all the things he just told me. After hearing his story, I was beginning to see him in a whole new light. He had the same dreams as me. 'Tuxedo Kamen could quite possibly be the lost prince I'm looking for.' Everything that added up pointed to the fact that he was. 'Was my prince right in front of me the whole time?' My heart was making an effort to speed up with the excitement of this new information, but my weakened state did not allow it much more than a few hard thumps. Lost in my own thoughts, I didn't really notice when his gaze left mine to land on the brooch beside the bed. A small frown adorned his features.

"What goes inside the brooch?" He turned back towards me, curiosity written on his face. I didn't register the question at first, due to the still raging emotions that his words had caused me. Confusion toned my words.

"Excuse me?" He nervously rubbed his neck again, and vaguely reminded me of a kid that had gotten caught doing something they weren't supposed to.

"I kind of looked inside when it fell out of your clothes, and it looks like there's supposed to be something in it...you didn't loose anything did you?" I remembered then that the crystal that I usually housed inside of it was still inside of my body. He would have seen an empty indention upon opening it. I glanced at him, not knowing what to say. He already knew that I was Sailor Moon. 'But do I trust him with the fact that I am the moon princess as well?' He had more or less called a truce with me.

'Call me crazy, but I actually feel safe and protected here in his presence. And then there is the fact that he's most likely the missing prince.' My heart gave another pathetic sputter again at this thought, making me miss when it was healthy and used to pound against my ribs. The result of the extra work caused a wave of dizziness to wash over me. I slumped back against the pillow for a moment.

"Hey...are you okay? You got really pale." He reached a gloved hand up to rest it on the side of my face, concern highlighting his features. "Maybe I should leave and let you rest." His hand left my cheek to rest on my shoulder as he closely examined me. He pulled his gloves off to check the pulse at my wrist. "Are you in a lot of pain?" My arm was throbbing lightly at that moment, but I knew that if I were try to move it the pain would sear hot and violent through my shoulder and spread through my chest and arm. I knew this from my earlier trip from the bed to the floor, and my first weak struggles to escape my captor.

"It's not too bad so long as I don't try to move it." I informed him. I lifted my head back off of the pillow when the dizziness passed and glanced around the room while he finished up my 'check-up'. "How long was I out?" I asked him, noticing for the first time that it was day light outside.

"Only a few hours. Most people would have been out for days with an injury like that." He commented effectively reminding me that instead of leaving me there to die he saved me, bandaged me up, and took care of me. 'Looks like my sub-concious was right about him all along.' I suddenly had to share this revelation with him. He had shared so much with me already. I grabbed his hand before he could pull it away in order to get his attention.

"I just wanted to tell you that...no matter how many times we had it out, or how many times my fellow senshi told me other wise, I still felt deep down that you were on my side...I always have." My words caused his features to soften. He reached his hand up to softly caress my cheek.

"I AM on your side." He informed me. Then, he stopped his caress and pulled his other hand up to gently cup my face in his hands. This put his face very close to mine, and the proximity had me light headed once again, but in a whole knew way. His features were serious with his next statement. "I promise you that I will never again..._EVER_...hurt you in any way." His words were toned with thick emotion. We stayed in that position for what seemed like minutes, his thumbs lightly caressing my skin. Suddenly, his face was moving towards mine as his hands brought mine closer to his. Within a breath his lips gently covered mine. The kiss was soft and sweet, but still sent warmth and tingly sensations all over my body, making me temporarily forget the throbbing pain in my shoulder and the weakness.

The back of my mind was screaming that I was indeed kissing Tuxedo Kamen for the first time, while my eyes closed and my lips kissed back. The kiss stayed soft and gentle, and it was too soon that he removed his lips from mine. He rested his forehead against mine, still holding my face in his hands. The embrace was intimate and sweet and was my undoing. I made the decision then and there to trust him. Keeping my eyes closed, I concentrated on the crystal. I pulled it from my body and mentally placed it back inside of the brooch. He must have felt the ripple of power on my skin when I moved the crystal because he released his hold on me and stood up. I opened my eyes to stare up at him.

"Okay." I told him.

"Okay?"

"I know where the princess is." These words seemed to batter him with emotions I was unaware of. I could see his chest begin to rise and fall quickly. He turned to lean his weight against the bedside table. His hands gripped the wood tightly and I thought for a moment that he would break it. One of his hands then reached up to grab at his chest, as if he could grab his heart through it.

"And you can.. take me to her..." His voice was hoarse and his features that weren't hidden by the mask were those of pain. His reaction surprised me, causing me to pause in my revelations.

"Yes." My own voice sounded foreign and small as his reaction caused one of my own. It was as if I could feel his heartbreak tangible in the room. Was he loosing someone in order to gain another? 'Maybe he's not so different from me after all.' My eyes moistened with unshed tears as I thought of my Mamo-chan for a moment. I knew exactly how he felt. I could feel my own heartbreak mirroring his. I took a shaky breath before I held out my hand. The brooch on the night stand levitated a moment in front of Tuxedo Kamen's face before I mentally called it to me. He straightened himself from the table, his features watching me carefully now.

Instead of catching the brooch with my free hand I let it float a few centimeters from my skin. My eyes never left his face as I opened the brooch to let the crystal shine. Despite my internal pain and my unshed tears my voice was surprisingly strong.

"This is the Imperial Silver Crystal...and I am Tsukino Usagi...the reborn Princess of the Moon." If his first reaction surprised me, his next one floored me. HIs shoulders slumped forward as if in relief, and his knees buckled, causing him to collapse onto them on the floor. His mouth was slightly agape as he stared dumbfounded at me, tears leaking from his eyes to appear below his mask. My own tears filled and spilled over as we sat in long silence starring at each other. It wasn't until I closed the brooch in my hand and lowered it into my lap that he spoke. His words were still trimmed with emotion, but of a different nature.

"I've finally found my princess...after all this time. And you were right in front of me the whole time." His words echoed my earlier thoughts and there was no heart ache in his features anymore. Only joy and a sense of wonderment. He made a movement as if to stand up and come to me when a loud crash sounded from the living room. Tuxedo Kamen was on his feet instantly. In less than a heart beat four really pissed off senshi were standing in the doorway.

"Jupiter? Mercury? Venus? Mars? How did you...?"

"Stay away from her you creep!" Jupiter yelled with malice as she scooted closer to my position on the bed, ever ready to spring into action. Tuxedo Kamen seeing this readied himself for an attack.

"You won't keep me from what is mine!" He said as he in turn made a move towards me, readying a rose to throw.

"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

"NOO!" I screamed as the chains burst out to wrap around Tuxedo Kamen's body and drop him to the floor, his rose falling uselessly to the ground. He tried futilely to fight against them, his gaze pinned on me the entire time. I knew all to well how unbreakable those chains were when wrapped around somebody. I had felt my portion in training. He yelled out with pain and agony as Jupiter scooped me into her arms, and I knew that his cries were not from any physical pain.

"NO! LET ME STAY!" I yelled but to no avail. I was still very weak and could not fight them off. Venus and Mercury stood guard as Jupiter and Mars left the room with me in still in Jupiter's grasp. "You don't understand!" I tried to reason with them. "We can trust him!" Not even hesitating at this, Jupiter continued on, and soon were outside on the roof top. I heard Mercury's distant attack in order to keep Tuxedo Kamen from following as we started to jump from roof top to roof top, distancing ourselves from him. "I have to go back!" Tears were streaming freely down my face now.

"After what he did to you?" Mars snapped as she gestured towards my bandaged shoulder.

"No you don't understand! He saved me! He's the lost prince!" I shouted back at her, but she just let out a sarcastic _humph_.

"I bet he would tell you anything to find out the whereabouts of the princess. Stop being so naive Usagi!" She yelled. The other two senshi soon joined our position as we continued to leap from building to building. I tried to struggle against Jupiter's hold, but only succeeded in further weakening myself. By time we reached Rei's temple I had exhausted what very little energy that I had physically and emotionally. Jupiter set me on the edge of the bed, and I had barley the strength to sit upright.

The gray dots were making themselves known again in my vision. I saw threw them an angry Mars walking towards me, no doubt wanting the whole story. I tried to tell her that she would have to wait, but I didn't even have the energy to form the words. My body very quickly lost the upright battle and I slumped forward directly into Mars, who was by then standing right in front of me.

"What happened to you Odango-Atama?" She asked as she picked me up to lay me horizontal on the bed. Her voice was surprisingly toned with sympathy and worry despite the anger I had just seen on her features moments before. I tried to give her at least something before I went unconscious again.

"Youma... attacked me..." I grimaced as the memory reminded me of the pain still searing in my arm. My earlier struggles against Jupiter had caused it to hurt with a vengeance.

"Shh." She said as she pulled a blanket over me to make me more comfortable. "You can tell us later. Right now you should heal." I didn't need her permission to do so as my body had already started sliding towards unconsciousness.

"She looks awfully pale." I heard Mercury say before the much needed darkness consumed me once more.

(A/N: Sooooo...whatdya think? Again I'm sorry about the wait, but I was a little bummed because I only received 2 reviews on the last chapter. Not exactly motivational material here guys. And for the record, this is not a Mamoru bashing fic. I just like to write a fantasy world where men are actually capable of sincere emotions...that's all. :P Remember that reviews are a girl's best friend. I hoped you all enjoyed it and the next chapter will most likely be the last. I have some other stories that I'm ready to start after this one, so if your a fan (and I hope that you are) look for more stories to come.)

Twinmoon25


	10. Chapter 9

Author's notes: Hey Minna! First off...I am so so so so so (There are not enough so's to describe it)very sorry for those of you that had to wait...I feel horrible about it. I had most of this story in my head except for the ending...I didn't want it too end too abruptly and it took me forever to brainstorm what I wanted to happen. So again I apologize for the wait. I hope this is worth the wait and everybody enjoys it.

Disclaimer: It's not mine(Sailor Moon)...I didn't take them(characters)...but can I use them for a little bit?

Chapter 9

Tuxedo Kamen

The abnormally thick fog hung heavily in air throughout his bed room. The density of it was immeasurable, not allowing him to even see his own hand directly in front of his face. He was pissed. He had only been able to listen while the senshi had taken off with her...his princess. His fists clenched tightly in anger. 'They will all pay. Every last one of them.' He could easily picture their faces now that he knew Usagi's identity. He would hunt every single one of them down as soon as the fog cleared. He _would_ find her. 'And when I do they will all be sorry they ever messed with me.'

It was a while before the fog began to fade, and taking with it the red haze of anger clouding his mind. When a small fraction of the bed could be seen he sunk down onto it defeated.

"Who am I kidding?" He questioned himself. 'I'm not a vicious murderer or anything.' He placed his face in his hands as his mind began to rationalize the situation. He concluded that she was as safe with her senshi as she was with him, which brought on a small comfort. 'But she's not here with me!' He had found her at last only for her to be taken away the next minute. He de-transformed to run his hands through his hair. Suddenly he was very tired. The last twenty four hours had been an emotional drain on him as well as a physical one. Important changes had rapidly happened in his life over that short amount of time. His mind automatically began to categorize the previous events.

He was an emotion wreck after his amazing kiss with Usagi because he realized how much he was in love with her. He then found out that she was Sailor Moon, whom he thought to be an enemy up until about 5 hours ago when she selflessly saved his life. 'Then I kissed Usagi again!' He thought. 'And as Tuxedo Kamen no less.' When she had told him that she knew where the princess was he had almost lost it. His heart had broken in half when he had thought that he was going to loose his Usako forever. Then the utter astonishment and relief he felt upon her revealing herself was staggering.

He suddenly smiled to himself, his mood lightening. 'The love of my life is...well...the other love of my life!' They could be together at last. He just had to find a way around the senshi. 'They are most likely going to protect her.' He mused. They would keep her with them at all times, and try their best to keep him from her. 'Especially since I know her identity now.' Suddenly his face lit up with excitement as an idea formed. 'I know her identity, but I never got to reveal mine.' He could use this to his advantage. The senshi won't trust Tuxedo Kamen, but they are friends with Chiba Mamoru.

He laid back in his bed while he formulated his plan. He could get her to talk to him as Mamoru one day at the arcade. According to her she hadn't talked to "Mamoru" since the kiss. 'She'll assume that's what I want to talk about. I pull her aside, tell her everything...and we go from there.' His mind felt at ease with his newly formed plan.

Of course there was one flaw with this plan. 'It'll probably be close to a week before she's healed enough to go out and about.' He frowned at this. The thought of spending just a few minutes away from his newly found princess was painful. A week would be brutal. He would have to fight himself from wanting to knock down the doors of every last senshi. He sighed audibly. He would just have to wait her out. 'Hell, I've waited for years! I can go a week.'

"Soon Usako." He whispered this into the quiet empty room, needing to hear the truth behind the words out loud. He closed his eyes and comforted himself with the future to come. A future where he wasn't alone anymore, and his princess, his Odango Atama, was by his side forever. With these thoughts, and her beautiful face consuming everyone of them, he drifted off to sleep.

Usagi

It felt like I had been floating for days when I finally started to surface. My mind was a bit confused from the deep sleep, and the prospects of me seeing Tuxedo Kamen again had me quickly opening my eyes. Instead of the white walls and white ceiling greeting me, I recognized the purple walls from Rei's room. My spirits crashed quickly as I soon remembered what had transpired. I thought of the last image of my prince that I had seen. Him writhing on the floor trying to break the hold on Venus' chains to get to me. A tear threatened and then spilled over. Rei took that moment to step into the room. I noticed that she was still in her sailor fuku.

"Oh good your awake." She smiled at me before she poked her head back out of the room to call for the others. Mercury came in shortly after.

"Hi Usagi-chan. how are you feeling?" Not really waiting for a response, she sat down next to me to run a scan with her computer, checking my vitals.

"Hey Usagi-chan!"

"I'm glad to see that your alright." Venus and Jupiter soon joined us, and I decided that I would be better off sitting up. Before I could continue my efforts alone Jupiter had rushed to my side to help me. She stepped back and I sat staring at the four Sailor Senshi surrounding the bed. They must have noticed my confusion because Sailor Mars quickly spoke up.

"We've been on alert since you've been out. Tuxedo Kamen knows your identity now, and if he remembers seeing you anywhere before, there is a possibility that he could figure us out too."

"It's just a precaution." Sailor Venus informed me, no doubt seeing the unease that this statement was causing me and trying to ease the blow.

"But its a necessary one." Said Sailor Jupiter, unknowingly thwarting Venus' attempts. I took that moment to speak up.

"I know that you guys are just doing your job and protecting me but, he's not dangerous. You can stand down now." This statement succeeded in thoroughly pissing off Sailor Mars.

"Stand down?! Look at your shoulder! And are you forgetting how many times he's threatened you? You can't keep falling for his tricks!"

"Yeah Usagi, he's not safe!" Jupiter added. I looked around to the other senshi who were nodding their heads in agreement. I needed to try harder to convince them.

"How can I make you guys understand that deep down I know that I can trust him?! I can feel it in here...I always have." I accented the last sentence by pointing to my heart with my good arm. I was about to disclose the information that he knew that I was the Moon Princess as well, when I was interrupted.

"Forget it Usa-chan. We came too close to loosing you, and that's just another risk that we're not going to take." Luna finalized as she walked through the door and jumped onto the bed to greet me. With a small purr, she nudged her head against my arm in affection. "I'm glad that you're safe." I forced myself to smile at her as my mind was in turmoil. If the guardian decreed this nonsense, then there was no way that I was going to sway them. 'I have to think of something.'

There was also no possibility that they would let me out of their sights. 'I can pretty much guarantee an escort where ever I go now.' Tuxedo Kamen could sense me transform also. No doubt that the senshi had that covered as well. 'If I could sneak away from them at some point and transform...' It was the only thing that I had going. Sailor Mercury soon interrupted my thoughts.

"All your vitals are good, and even your blood levels are rising." She closed her computer and reached for a bag beside the bed. She pulled out of it some first aid supplies. "I didn't want to bother you while you slept but, I need to take a look at the wound...and redress it"

"How long was I asleep?"

"Nearly twelve hours. And don't worry, we told your mom that we were all having a big sleep over since school's out." Said Venus.

"Twelve hours? No wonder I feel better...wait...did you say that school was out? Did I miss a holiday or something?" Mercury helped me to remove the robe, intent on examining my wound, while I continued my talk with the other senshi.

"Not exactly." Mars disclosed as she proceeded to tell me about the tooth fairy youma and all the people sick from the energy draining monster. "Over half of the city is down. That's why they shut down the schools." I heard an audible intake of breath from Mercury as she uncovered the wound, no doubt seeing that it went all the way through my shoulder. Four gasps quickly followed hers as their eyes also landed on it.

"Oh my God!"

"That looks like it hurt like a mother."

"What happened!?"

"Since you're feeling better Usa-chan, why don't you tell us the story of what happen to you." Instructed Luna as she too stared wide-eyed at my deep wound. I looked around to all the worried faces and took a deep breath. I proceeded to tell them starting from the beginning, my kiss from Mamoru.

"He kissed you?!" Interrupted a shocked Venus receiving death glares from the rest of the senshi for interrupting me. "Oh...he he...sorry...continue." I informed them that it was the reason why I had been so miserable lately because I had feelings for him that I could not act on. I told them about waking early and going for a walk. How I was in the park when the youma attacked me, and knocked both the communicator and my brooch in the lake before I could use it. I even explained to them that Tuxedo Kamen saved my life, knocking me out of the way of an arrow. They were shocked and angry when they heard that I had dove in front of the arrow for him.

"Why would you risk your life to save the likes of him?!" Yelled Luna, her eyes scolding me on their own even without the punch of her words. There were four equally angry stares glaring my way around the room.

"I told you my reasons already. You can be angry at me or I can finish my story." I snapped at them, angry myself that they were not on his side like I was. It was Luna who spoke again after taking a deep calming breath.

"Go ahead and finish Usa-chan." Her words were calm, but her eyes were still angry. I nodded at her and continued on. I had every intention of leaving out the part about when Tuxedo Kamen had threatened me. But after I informed them that I had dusted the youma and fled the scene, they quickly questioned my motives.

"Wait a second...if you trust "_Mr. Wonderful_" so much why didn't you just stay there and let him help you?" Asked Sailor Jupiter obviously still pissed because I had risked my life for him. The other senshi nodded their responses to this as well. All eyes were on me eagerly awaiting my response. I didn't know what to say.

"I...well...he was...I mean before he was knocked unconscious he..."

"He was threatening you again wasn't he Usagi? Just like he ALWAYS does!" Snapped Mars. I could do nothing but nod my response. This was not helping me win him over to our side. "And you still would risk your life for someone like that? Unbelievable!"

"Calm down Mars...let's let Usagi finish." Luna quickly quieted the senshi of fire. This time it was me that took the calming breath before I finished my story.

"I was coming to your house Sailor Mars, since you were the closest to the park. I figured that you could help me pull the arrow out. That is, until I quickly found out that it was an energy draining arrow."

"Energy draining huh? No doubt that this youma was from the same mold as the tooth one." Supplied Mercury, still busy wrapping my shoulder.

"What on earth did you do then?"

"Well I had to pull it out of course. It would have drained me dry!" I proceeded to tell them exactly how I had pulled it out receiving respectful glances from all around.

"Oh my God!"

"That must have been excruciating!"

"You have no idea." I stated. "I nearly passed out from the pain. I did scream however, and that's how Tuxedo Kamen was able to find me." I then told them how once free the wound bled profusely and I was unable to barely stand due to the blood loss. "So I pulled the crystal deep inside of me in order to protect it, causing my transformation to fade as well...the next thing that I remembered was waking up at Tuxedo Kamen's place." I told them about how he took care of me, saving my life, because I would have surely bled to death if he hadn't. How he was really gentle and caring. I informed them about the dreams he admitted to having since he was a boy, still leaving out the part where I revealed myself as his princess.

"And then we...um...kissed." I admitted.

"He kissed you!" Interrupted the senshi of love once more. "Oh come on! You guys can interrupt her story with questions about her bleeding wound and nobody gives you the death stare!" She complained as she once again received stares from all around. She crossed her arms with a pout.

"And that's about the time that you guys busted into the place like the freaking swat team, and took me away from the one man that could very well be my lost prince." I finished.

"I'm glad that he saved you Usagi. I will be eternally grateful to him for that alone but..." My hope plummeted at those three little letters as Luna continued. "I want you to keep a good distance from him do you understand? We still don't know enough about him." My hopes hit rock bottom. I was sure that explaining to them the whole story would sway their decision about him. I looked at each of their faces, theirs still eagerly awaiting my response to Luna's instructions. I thought about arguing my point further, but the determination in their gazes left me bowing my head in acknowledged agreement instead.

"I understand." I half spoke, half whispered this as my mind kicked into over drive. I would find a way to escape their surveylances. I would find a way to see him. 'And when we're finally together, I will find a way to prove that they can trust him.'

Mamoru

He sat up straight, his chest heaving with his rapid breaths. It had been another one of his princess dreams. The only difference was that he now knew who she was. In his dream she had cried over his lifeless body moments before she took her own life. He quickly guessed that it was some kind of memory from the past. It felt too real to be just a dream. His hands found his face as he groaned. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to hold his princess in his arms. To make sure that she was safe.

The future suddenly became unclear to him, the uncertainty of it fueling his urge to find Usagi. He glanced at the clock, it's digital numbers illuminating that it was 3:58 in the morning. Transforming quickly, he jumped out the window to search for her. His instincts brought him to Rei's temple, whom he now knew to be Sailor Mars. He hid perched in a tree deep in the shadows as he surveyed the area. He saw at least three Sailor Senshi walk alertly by, patrolling the grounds. As he leaned against the trunk and watched, two things became clear. One, she was definitely here, and two...there was no way that he was getting to her tonight. Defeated once more, he headed back to his apartment, carrying with him only the knowledge that she was still safe. He would stick to his plan of seeing her as Mamoru. She wouldn't stay indoors forever...he would just have to wait her out.

Usagi

My plan to sneak away didn't exactly fall into place right away. It took a few days. They patrolled the grounds heavily the first twenty four hours that I was there. Added to that was the weakness that I still felt from my healing wound. I wouldn't be able to fight them to escape...not that I wanted to anyway. It was just an option that I didn't have. There were attacks also...at least three of them in the time I had been there, and they were all from that same tooth youma that they had yet to catch. At first, only two of them would respond to the call, leaving the other two to stay behind and guard the grounds. But after the third encounter with it, and still not being able to catch it they only left one behind. This was a particularly strong youma. It was still reeking havoc on the city. I wanted nothing more than to moon dust the creature myself, but I had to stick by my plan.

I never mentioned Tuxedo Kamen, or hinted in anyway that I wanted to escape from their clutches. I kept up the facade that I was a happy healing Usagi, that had no problems except for the wound in my shoulder. This worked better than I had originally thought it would. They became a little bit more relaxed by the third day. Not staying transformed the whole time like before. I had convinced them that I understood the dangers of him finding me. They had no idea that I wanted to sneak away at my own leisure to meet him. They assumed that I had come to my senses. And It wasn't long when I got my chance to venture out on my own, three days after they had brought me to the temple. The youma was attacking again. Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter quickly transformed and ran out of the temple towards town with Luna and Artemis trailing behind them, leaving an anxious Venus behind pacing the room.

"You can go with them if you want Venus." I told her. She stopped her pacing to stare at me.

"I need to stay here and guard the place."

"I think I'm strong enough to watch over myself now...I'm feeling pretty good...and I think that the senshi need you with them more than I do." She watched me carefully, her eyes drawn as if she were fighting an internal battle. She wanted to go and help, but she didn't want to leave me alone. "Just go Venus...they need you there. We're talking a matter of minutes here...I'll be fine. We need to dust this thing!" That seemed to change her mind.

"I won't be gone more then thirty minutes!" She promised. "I'll call Luna and Artemis on the communicator and get them to head back this way, and I can run to help dust this thing and be right back!"

"Get a few hits in for me too!" I told her as she ran out the door, happy with the plan. I stood up out of bed, immediately feeling the weakness in my arms and legs. 'I'll just have to take it slow.' I was glad that I had decided to dress earlier in the day, it saved me precious minutes. I grabbed the sling for my injured arm, and walking on heavy limbs, I left the temple, and headed towards town.

I noticed as soon as I left the temple how empty the streets were. If nearly half of the city was sick, then the other half were too scared to venture out into town for fear of getting sick as well. 'We really need to kill this monster, and quickly.' I made my way further into town, and immediately headed for our hangout place. 'If anyone is out here they will be there.' I walked up to the crown arcade and stared inside through the large window. It was completely empty. The closed sign was hanging in the window as well. I sent a silent prayer that Motoki was alright. It wasn't a stretch of the mind that I started to think of Mamoru also. 'I hope he is okay.' I looked to my left down the empty street as a sense of dread came over me. 'Maybe coming out here on my own wasn't such a good idea.'

I could feel my energy depleting further the more I walked. If something attacked me I wouldn't have much strength to defend myself. There was no one around to help...the streets were baron...and I didn't have my communicator to call for help either. My heart started racing with fear and anxiety. Feeling a bit panicky I turned abruptly to head back towards the temple, and my face ran into a soft wall. I let a startled scream out and jumped back, fearing for my life. I stared up at the man and instantly recognized him. It was Mamoru! My relief of seeing him safe, and basically just seeing anyone at all had me practically jumping into his arms.

"I'm so glad to see you..."I told him as I squeezed his waist with my good arm, feeling my anxiety fade at the comforting thought of safety as he eagerly returned my embrace. It soon returned when our closeness reminded me of our last encounter together in the park. I quickly released him and backed away. My thoughts sliding into turmoil.

Mamoru

He stared at her for a few moments as he tried to collect himself. He was still in shock at seeing her. Seconds before, he was walking down the road thinking it would be days before he would see his princess, and that he might have to come up with a plan; when he rounded the corner and saw her standing in front of the crown arcade. He had walked up behind her when she had quickly turned, looking spooked, and ran in to him. Now she was nervously standing there after she had pulled away from the abrupt hug she had given him. She was staring longingly down the street , as if she wanted to leave but didn't want to be by herself. He tried to think of something to say.

"You shouldn't be out here all alone...it could be dangerous." She turned to look at him, her battling emotions visible behind her eyes.

"I...I was just heading to Rei's temple." She told him, now staring intently at him.

"Then I'll walk with you there." He said, seeing this as an opportunity to talk to her. She seemed to realized this too as more anxiety crossed her features. He didn't want to scare her away, but his own raging emotions had him lifting his hand to caress her face. "It's good to see you..." She relaxed into his hand as their gazes locked, both pair of blue eyes full with emotion.

"_Usako_..."He whispered this to her as their bodies were drifting slowly together, but the intimate use of her name had her quickly backing away, tears threatening in her eyes. The look of sorrow on her face pained him, and he wanted nothing more than for her to stop hurting...to realize that they were supposed to be together. He needed to tell her who he was. "Usako, you don't have to fight us." He started to inform her, but she started backing further away from him, shaking her head no.

"I'm sorry Mamo-cha...Mamoru-san, we just...we can't do this.." Her voice was cracked with the sadness the words were causing her, and some of the threatening tears spilled over to her cheeks. He wanted her pain to go away... He wanted her in his arms...

"You don't understand...we can be together..." He tried to reach for her.

"I can't be with you!" She choked out as more tears poured down her face. When she took another step backwards, he gently grabbed both of her arms to stop her, taking care with her injured arm. He pulled her close to him, her heart broken look making him desperate for her to know the truth. His face quickly closed the now short distance, and claimed her lips in a searing kiss. Her body seemed to betray her and she immediately responded, kissing him back with ferocity. He knew that her body would always respond to him because she was his...he put all of his emotions into the kiss...wanting her to see that...to feel it. It was yet again too soon when she pulled away from him. He could still see that she wasn't convinced. She had started to back out of his arms, when he stopped her.

"No don't leave...you have to understand!" He told her as she once again began to shake her head back and forth, a negative reply on her lips..

"There's..."

"Just listen to me!" He interrupted her, causing her to stop talking and cease her struggles to back out of his grasp. She stared intently up at him, waiting for his reply. "I need to tell you something. Something that will change your mind about us... The reason we can be together is because I'm Tu..." A loud explosion from two blocks ahead sounded, and instinctively he dove to the side of the building for cover, cradling Usagi carefully in his arms as small objects pierced the ground they were previously occupying.

"I always said that a little teeth in a kiss is not a bad thing!" The creature yelled as it hurled more objects towards them. 'If the youma is here, then the senshi are close by.' The thought was barely formed when a flaming fire ball slammed into the youma causing it to bellow in pain. He helped Usagi off of the ground as the senshi ran up to him. They were a bit surprised to see him there, but when their eyes landed on Usagi, they were dumbfounded.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" Mars asked her as she shot a murderous glance at the senshi of love. There was no time to answer as the youma quickly recovered and began to hurl more teeth at them. Mamoru quickly protected Usagi as the group dove further behind the cover of the building. "We'll talk later..."she told Usagi. She looked at Mamoru for brief second as the other senshi began to throw their attacks at the monster. "Keep her safe..." She told him as she joined in to help. He watched from their cover, as the particularly strong youma drove each of the senshi into different hiding places, relentlessly hurling those disgusting sharp teeth at them, while cleverly dodging their attacks.

Suddenly, the attack ceased, and it became eerily quiet. He pulled Usagi close to him and backed them further out of view, wondering if the youma gave up and disappeared. They were becoming more and more cunning and this one was very unpredictable. In a flash the youma appeared in front of them...effectively trapping them in the small alleyway beside the building that they had taken cover in. He pushed Usagi protectively behind him. He knew he wouldn't be able to protect her in his civilian form, and quickly made a snap decision. The senshi rounded the alleyway just as he pulled the rose from his jacket and transformed.

Author notes: You guys really hate me now huh? You may even hate me more because there's going to be another chapter...I promise that this next one will be the last. I just didn't want to cram the ending in one chapter because like I said, I didn't want to end it too abruptly. So I hope you enjoyed this one, and I will have the last Chapter up for you guys very soon. And remember, positive feedback is a girl's best friend!

Twinmoon25


	11. Chapter 10

A/N: Hey Minna! Here it is...what you've all been waiting patiently for...I really hope it lives up to everyones expectations. Without further ado...

Disclaimer: I'm sorry, the owner of the characters you are about to read does not belong to this author, please read it anyway, and do not sue for the borrowing of said characters. Thank you, and have a nice day.

Chapter 10

Usagi

The youma had us cornered. When Mamoru pulled me behind him protectively, placing his body in front of mine, I knew that I had to do something. I didn't think I would survive if anything happened to him. I reached into my pocket with my good arm to grab my brooch, intent on transforming myself, when a flash of light that would forever change my life radiated from Mamoru. I didn't have much time to process what had happened, because I was instantly swept up in Tuxedo Kamen's arms as he jumped to the top of the crown building. Teeth bounced off the walls beneath us as the youma's attack was foiled by his leap with me to the top. The senshi were flabbergasted, mouths hanging open as they gapped up at Tuxedo Kamen.

"NOVOCAIN BLAST!" They barely snapped out of their surprise in time to dodge the youma's next attack, that was quickly fixated back at them. They dove away safely, but some of the smoky liquid hit Venus' foot, causing her toes to go numb.

"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!" The youma dodged the attack and sent more teeth at Venus..."Oh my God that feels so weird!" She complained as she ran on her rubbery toes trying to escaping the attack.

On top of the roof, my own mouth was agape as I stared at the masked protector holding me...My masked protector...My Mamo-chan...My...Prince. It was him all along! At that moment, in the middle of the utter chaos happening beneath us on the street below, everything fell into place. Like tumblers sliding together to unlock a safe, all of my emotions and feelings joined together, and my heart opened to the staggering certainty and veracity of the truth. I knew then, without a doubt, that this man was mine...the one I had been looking for. The heartache I had felt just moments before had instantly vanished with my new found knowledge.

He set me on my feet as he scanned the area for the youma, ever ready to defend against an attack. Never in my life did I want a youma dusted as badly as I wanted that one at that particular moment. There was so much that my prince and I needed to discuss...To catch up on. All I wanted at that moment was to run away with him, to have him all to myself...To protect him...To bask in the happiness of finally finding him. '_But_...Duty calls.' I thought as I raised my brooch in the air. My overwhelming happiness at finding my prince fueled me with new energy, and I was going to put it towards good use.

"I'll take care of this monster once and for all!" I said, feeling my power gather before I even spoke the next words.

"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" The comforting familiar ribbons surrounded me as power flooded through my body. When my transformation was complete, Tuxedo Kamen was standing directly in front of me, staring intently at me.

"Sailor Moon, you do not need to fight this one...your not yet fully healed." He gently touched my injured shoulder, as if he could draw the pain from me himself, emotion heavy on his face. I knew that he wouldn't forgive himself easily for what had happened a few nights ago, and that any thought of me getting hurt more would be unbearable for him. He really was just too sweet.

"Don't worry, I can handle this." His hand found my cheek once more and his tone softened.

"I don't want to loose you...not when I just found you..."

"Mamo-chan I have to..." My reply was cut short as the youma, who must have noticed the light from my transformation, leaped onto the top of the building.

"How about a bright whitening?!" Asked the youma as it built a large attack inside of it's hands. "TOOTH DECAY!" It proceeded to throw a particularly large ball of energy towards us. Tuxedo Kamen jumped left, and I jumped right, both of us having to leap from the building in order to avoid the massive attack as it slammed against the rooftop. My feet hit the ground and the height of the fall had me diving forward to absorb the impact. I cried out in pain as it seared hot and violent through my injured shoulder, a direct result from the weight of my body rolling over the top of it. 'I think I just re-opened the wound.' I thought with a painful groan. Suddenly, the youma peered over the top of the building, and sent a shower of teeth raining down towards me. The quick attack left me with no time to jump to my feet or defend myself, and I was certain that Tuxedo Kamen was too far away to help. I was left to barrel roll across the street as fast as I could, frantically dodging the sharp teeth as they hit the ground next to the spot I had previously occupied. My shoulder was screaming from the abuse. I rolled under the cover of a parked car just as I heard Jupiter's attack.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" The youma screamed once more as Jupiter's lightning knocked it off of the building to the streets below.

"VENUS CRESCENT BEAM!" The concentrated beam hit it, taking off a good part of one of it's arms, while simultaneously providing Venus retribution for her numb toes. More of its screams pierced the air. I rolled out from the other side of the vehicle, stood up, and leaned heavily against it, just as the senshi surrounded the youma to finish it off. My vision blurred from the pain in my shoulder, and I was certain that if I didn't re-open it with my leap to the ground then I surely did with my acrobatic roll across the street. I was grateful when the senshi closed in on the monster. 'Finally we'll be rid of this thing!' I thought hopefully.

"DENTAL FLOSS!" Suddenly, massive amounts of stringy rope burst from the youma that was still lying on the ground, enveloping the surrounding senshi. They fell to the ground struggling against the confines of the rope as the youma attempted to regain it's feet. Now it was my time to finish it.

"This thing doesn't know when to quit!" I told Tuxedo Kamen as he quickly joined me. He pulled me close, his face drawn up in worry. His hand brushed my hair, and I leaned into him for a moment for support. I could feel my energy level nearly depleted.

"We have to get you somewhere safe." He told me, the worry just as clear in his voice as it was in his expression as he surveyed my injured arm. I followed his gaze, and wasn't too surprised to see the crimson stain on my fuku. 'Great...now Luna will never let me go anywhere!' I gritted my teeth against the pain in an effort to speak normal.

"I can't...not yet. I can finish this." He didn't appear convinced at this statement, shaking his head back and forth, a negative reply on his lips.

"You need to..."

"If you get my back we can _both_ finish this thing!" I interrupted him before he could finish the comment. We both glanced over at the struggling senshi on the ground. The youma had made it to its feet, and was about to throw more teeth at my floundering friends, which was unacceptable, and just plain pissed me off. Anger filled my gaze. 'The nerve of this youma!' "We have to help them!" He nodded his agreement to me, and seeing the determination on my face, he reluctantly released his hold on me. "Get my back." I reminded him as I stepped forward towards the creature. My anger towards it made my legs steady as I walked from the cover of the vehicle, and Tuxedo Kamen's arms. He followed close behind, ready to come to the rescue.

"Hey cavity freak!" I shouted, trying to draw its attention away from my friends, and received conformation that it worked when its ugly eyes pinpointed my position.

"Cavity!? I'll show you cavities!" It turned fully away from them to face me. The senshi stopped struggling from their positions on the ground to observe my next actions.

"How dare you administer your sick twisted dentistry to the citizens of this city!" The youma growled in anger at my taunting. I readied my tiara for a quick strike. "I am Sailor Moon! And I will clean rotten tooth decay like you from mouth of this city! In the name of the moon!" The youma reared back to throw its attack, but my tiara was already on its way. It struck her only good arm left, effectively cutting it off. The youma screamed in agony as it fell to the ground. "You're finished!" Not giving it any time to disappear, I quickly pulled my power from the crystal and hurled the energy towards it to finish it off.

The youma burst into dust just as those all too familiar grey dots danced in front of me, and I was thankful that I had asked Tuxedo Kamen to get my back. My legs buckled, and I found myself quickly wrapped up in his arms, along with his scolding voice in my ear.

"You over did it Usako..." I smiled weakly as I leaned my spinning head against him. 'My protective prince! I would smite fifty thousand more if it meant being in yours arms!' I thought as I breathed in his wonderful scent. My mind was beginning to cloud.

"Had...to..." I told him, feeling his lips against my temple. My limbs were heavy and my shoulder was screaming, but inside of his arms I had never felt better. My world was fading quickly, but this time I did not care. The last thing I saw was the Senshi walking up to us, Sailor Mars having burned off the youma's attack with her fire. My body grew numb, the surrounding noises faded, and I was once again swallowed by the blackness.

Usagi

The air was damp and cool as I once again found myself running full speed through a maze. Just like before, the tall bushes stretched upwards obscuring any if at all light from the outside. The only sound besides the thundering of my feet on the soft grass, was the air I pulled greedily into my lungs as I sprinted the length of a long corridor. Suddenly, I came to a halt and strained my ears out into the still dark night.

"_Usako_..." I could just barely make out the voice. It was very faint, as if it were miles away. I rounded a corner and then another before I caught a glimpse of a caped figure at the end of the next vine made corridor. His back was turned towards me. "_Usako...my beautiful brave Usako_..." This time the voice sounded closer. I slowed into a walk as I approached the rear facing man. He did not disappear around the maze like the last time , and this time I easily approached him. When he turned to face me, I was not surprised to see the face of Chiba Mamoru this time. His prince-like garb vanished right before my eyes, leaving him in his civilian clothing. His hand reached up to stroke my cheek. He leaned down and captured my lips in a soft, but electrifying kiss that I swore I could feel straight down to my toes. My eyes closed as I reveled in the sensations of being kissed by my prince.

Suddenly my limbs felt heavy. My entire body felt like it was falling towards the ground, unable to stand against the sudden gravity that had consumed me. Strangely enough, I could still feel his lips against mine as my body was soon lying horizontal. The cloud in my mind was quickly receding and I realized that I was becoming conscious again. As soon as all the weight had settled in my arms, pain quickly seared through my injured one, causing a quick intake of breath. The pain succeeded in quickly awakening the rest of my body. I felt his lips pull away, and I opened my eyes.

I was instantly met with dark blue ones staring lovingly down at me, but no dark outside maze surrounding us. I was then aware of the fact that part of that dream had been real. I registered his hand holding mine and his other one gently stroking my cheek. My lips still tingled from his kiss. We stared into each-others eyes for what seemed like hours. As I became aware of the events that transpired when I was last conscious, I was reminded that not only was the youma dusted, but also to the fact that I finally had him all to myself. Despite everything, a smile split my face as I continued to gaze into my prince's eyes.

"Usa..." He leaned over and placed his forehead against mine. The hand holding mine left me briefly to join his other as he cupped my face. I was so overwhelmed by happiness that for a moment I could not even speak. Tears of my happiness gathered in my lashes, and gleefully tracked down my cheeks. His own tears of elation leaked down his face as well, as we basked in the wonderful feeling of finally belonging to each other. If it were not for the pain in my shoulder I would have sworn that I had died and gone to heaven. His lips closed over mine once again sending wondrous feelings shooting through my entire body. It was when he pulled away and sat up, that I quickly recognized the purple walls. I attempted to sit up also, and with his help I managed easily.

"The temple?" I asked him as I glanced around the all too familiar room, my smile dimming temporarily.

"A compromise." I knew then that he had wanted to take me away after the battle but the senshi didn't yet fully trust him. However, they did trust him enough to let him into the temple, which meant a great deal. The temple was practically the senshi's lair! I smiled once again. They chose that particular moment to walk into the room.

"Hey Usagi-chan! Glad to see you're awake." Said Mina. I glanced around and noticed them all in their civilian clothes. Also a good sign. Nobody was on alert here.

"Hey Guys." I greeted in return. Three of them grinned at me while Ami hurried over to me, no doubt to check my vitals. I was glad when Mamoru moved only to sit next to me on the bed. I wasn't ready to be away from him just yet. He draped his arm around me and kissed the top of my hair as Ami began typing away on her computer. I glanced down at my arm to see that it had been re-dressed and was wrapped tightly to my chest. "How bad is it?" I asked Ami, indicating towards my bandaged arm.

"Well, you tore it open pretty good during the battle." She informed me.

"But I healed for four days. There shouldn't have been that much to tear open right?" I asked her, confused as to how I could have damaged myself so extensively.

"It's true that we do heal fast. A wound as bad as that one should have taken you a week to heal completely. However, healing faster weakens our bodies. So that while our bodies are rapidly correcting the damage, in all actuality, we have very little energy. Rest fuels our healing Usagi-chan, and you haven't been getting nearly enough of it. Then add in the battle you just fought in..."

"Maybe if she would have been sleeping instead of stressing over that boy she would have gotten the needed rest." Scolded luna as she walked into the room. She padded over to the bed and jumped onto it to sit regally in front of us. I gathered from her demeanor and the small smile playing on her lips that she wasn't really angry. "I want to go ahead and get this out, and clear the air. There's no since in drawing the matter out or waiting." She turned her attention towards Mamoru. "Mamoru-san, Tuxedo Kamen-san. I will forever remain opposed as to how you've handled business between the Senshi in the past." My breath stopped at her words as I awaited what was to come. "But that was the past, and if we can all place that aside we can start a new alliance...if you are willing." With a somber expression, Mamoru stood to his feet. He fisted his right hand over his heart and bowed to the regal guardian.

"I Tuxedo Kamen, from this day forward pledge my allegiance to you, the Senshi, and to my princess...so long as I take breath." A small smile touched the corner of his mouth at that last portion of his sentence.

"Very well. The Senshi and myself recognize you as our ally, as well as the newly found Prince of Earth." When Luna bowed her head in full respect I wanted to burst into tears. Everything was perfect. I knew that there was still evil out there to moon dust, and that we would have to forever protect the world, but it was still perfect. Mamoru sat back down next to me and pulled me to him, while the girls welcomed him one by one into our group. "Come along girls, Usagi needs her rest." Luna instructed to them. She turned and winked at me, and I knew she was giving my prince and I some much needed alone time. I smiled gratefully at her. They all filed out of the room chattering happily and tossing goodbyes over their shoulders.

Mamoru's arms tightened around me before he pulled back to gaze into my eyes. I rested my hand on his cheek. We stayed just like that as the seconds inched by as if they were hours.

"Usako..." Emotion thickened his voice. "I'm so overwhelmed. And so glad that it's you...I was so upset that I was going to have to loose you. And now I know that you and I belong together, and that you are _mine! _Thinking about it now, I can't believe I didn't put it together before." His smile was alight with wonder.

"I know how you feel Mamo-chan, when I found out, everything just clicked into place, like I had known all along." He nodded his agreement as his expression sobered. He pulled me even closer to him.

"I love you Usako...so much...and I promise I will love you and protect you forever, so long as you want me." I had thought that the time for tears was past but was mistaken as his words caused them to once again track down my cheeks. He brushed them away with his thumbs.

"I love you Mamo-chan...so much... and get ready, because I'm going to want you forever." His eyes shimmered with his own emotion, he would no longer be alone. I had found my prince, and it was more than I could have ever dreamed of. This time, it was I who closed the distance between us, and pressed my lips onto his.

THE END

A/N: Whew! To everyone who stuck this out with me...thanks. You guys are the best. I have many hobbies so sometimes my writing gets put on the back burner. (That's an understatement! I'm the adult ADHD poster child!) But thanks again for being a fan of my writing, and I hoped everyone enjoyed it. I am currently re-writing a old story of mine that I lost on ASMR a long time ago, so look for it soon. I will be posting the first chapter shortly. Thanks again!

Twinmoon25


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